The Technology Life

Hmmm - the implication could be significant

Jessica Faye Carter is an award-winning author and columnist. Her company, Nette Media develops social media technologies for women and multicultural communities, and she blogs at Technicultr.

With over 50 million users, LinkedIn continues to be among the most popular social networking sites for business professionals, offering a variety of features for its users. One such feature, Groups, allows members the opportunity to create and manage groups focused on a wide range of business-related subjects, and some of the largest groups have hundreds of thousands of members and rival many niche social networks outside of LinkedInLinkedIn

in terms of size and activity.

Groups offer valuable networking opportunities for their participants, who gain access to resources and information that can be beneficial for their careers. If you are considering starting a LinkedIn group or want to increase the effectiveness or reach of your current group, the 8 tips below can help.

1. Use a Personal Touch

LinkedIn provides a wide range of tools that allow you to stay connected with your members in ways that feel personal. The Templates feature allows you to provide automatic responses to new members, and even to those requesting to join your group. It’s an easy way to envelope new members into your community. But you don’t have to limit yourself to early interactions.

Most members would be pleased to receive a note congratulating them on an accomplishment, or to read your comment on a discussion topic they started. As Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of HubSpot observes, “LinkedIn groups are all about community and bringing people with common interests together.”

He should know: his group, OnStartups, is the fourth-largest on LinkedIn with a membership that exceeds 113,000.

2. Lay Some Ground Rules

Establishing posting guidelines and displaying them prominently (in a featured discussion) is an easy way to help new members get acquainted with your group. Such guidelines generally provide users with community contacts, encourage them to post information in appropriate sections, and specify conduct that can get them banned (spam or attacking other group members, for example).

Making everyone aware of the rules also gives you a reference point when you have to handle a difficult situation with a member.

3. Praise the Good, Deal with the Bad

Encourage member participation by praising and highlighting valuable contributions to the group. This incentivizes others to share their content and engage. If you encounter negative or counterproductive behavior from a member, it’s important to be professional and civil. Should it become necessary to issue a warning, handle the matter privately. Apart from unusually egregious behavior or spam, it’s also a good idea to give a member a warning or two before banning them from the group. Ultimately, it’s up to you to use your best judgment.

4. Help Your Members Promote Themselves

One of the biggest complaints about LinkedIn Groups is the number of people who join simply to promote themselves or their business — and then hijack the group discussion boards to do so. They usually aren’t interested in engaging with others and can have a negative impact on your community. One way to manage these bombarders is by designating a place, like a Subgroup, for group members to promote their service offerings.

Subgroups are automatically available to all of your group members and are easy to set up. Highlighting this promotional opportunity satisfies those who want to self-promote and keeps your discussion boards open for business. You can also feature members in other ways, such as in your occasional emails to the group membership or in a featured discussion that you update regularly.

5. Add Some News Feeds

To keep a steady stream of content available for members to discuss, use the “Manage news feeds” feature to add the RSS feeds for your blog or other blogs to the Newsnews

section. The posts will then become automatically available to the members of your group for reading and discussion. Of course, you don’t want to flood the boards with self-promotion, so if you aren’t getting enough news inputs from your users, you may want to remove the feed and update the news section with a variety of content manually.

6. Facilitate Connections Outside of LinkedIn

It’s natural for members to seek to make non-LinkedIn connections after being active in your group for awhile. You can offer a range of options to help your members engage elsewhere on the Internet or offline.

Women 2.0, an organization for women entrepreneurs in technology, has a LinkedIn group founded by Angie Chang with over 18,000 members. This group provides numerous opportunities for members to connect apart from the group. Members can share their TwitterTwitter

handles in a featured discussion, or participate in a Women 2.0 Startup Essentials Workshop for face-to-face interaction. Depending on the size of your group, you might consider starting a Meetup group for local interaction, hosting a webinar, or arranging a dinner or meeting at an industry conference or event.

7. Take a Poll

Use LinkedIn’s Polls application to get feedback from your members on group features and functionality. Create a free poll and then highlight it in your group, either by linking to it on the discussion boards or by submitting the poll’s URL to your News section. Be careful; if you make the poll available in the general directory, your responses won’t be limited to group members — anyone on LinkedIn can respond.

8. Promote Your Group

The sheer size of LinkedIn means that your group is likely to get some members without much effort on your part. But this shouldn’t be an incentive to neglect promotional tools. Some of the strategies you can use to promote your group include low-hanging fruit like inviting others in your network to join, encouraging members to invite their colleagues, and by highlighting your group to other, non-competing groups (LinkedIn members can belong to up to 40 groups simultaneously).

Shah took his group to the next level by promoting it on his standalone OnStartups blog as a static link, as well as in specific articles. He issued this call to action to potential members: “Are you passionate about startups? Then, connect with other like minded people in the LinkedIn OnStartups group”. He even created a custom URL (http://linkedin.onstartups.com) that was co-branded, catchy, easy to remember, and short enough to fit on Twitter.

Do you have any best practices for managing LinkedIn groups? Share your ideas in the comments.

More small business resources from Mashable:

- Top Mobile Productivity Tools for the Small Business
- HOW TO: Choose a News Reader for Keeping Tabs on Your Industry
- 5 Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses
- 4 Ways Social Media is Changing Business
- HOW TO: Use Twitter Hashtags for Business

Sharlyn Lauby is the president of Internal Talent Management (ITM) which specializes in employee training and human resources consulting. She authors a blog at hrbartender.com.

Over the past few months, we’ve talked about whether you should have a social media policy and what should be included in that policy. It only seems logical to discuss the next step in the process, which is what to consider when implementing a social media strategy in your workplace.

Just having a policy isn’t good enough — you need a plan to put it in place. Here are five areas to discuss when implementing a social media strategy.

1. Determine Your Objective

Luis Ramos, CEO of The Network, reminds us that creating a social media strategy is a complex exercise because “it includes not only looking inside the organization to establish appropriate practices, usage policies and content parameters, but it also includes looking outside the organization to determine the proper degree of engagement.”

Figure out why you’re getting on the social media bandwagon and what you want to accomplish with it. This step is absolutely necessary if you plan to measure ROI or develop your own internal metrics tracking.

When General Motors put together their social media strategy, they had some specific objectives they wanted to accomplish. Christopher Barger, director of global social media at General Motors, outlined the following:

A. Become more responsive to people/consumer audiences
B. Incorporate audience/consumer feedback into your organization more quickly and effectively than has happened traditionally
C. Make your brand a little more “human” to the outside world, and show people the smarts, personality and passion of the people behind your logo
D. Increase awareness of the strength of your current product lineup, and provide perspective/accurate information about your company

The other benefit of defining objectives is that they can guide the timetable for implementation. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen an organization’s list of objectives and knew there was no way they could implement everything at once or in the timeframe they intended. Having well-defined objectives can assist in prioritization and creating the best way to phase-in a social media strategy.

Developing objectives and a timetable could also prompt a conversation about content management. Ramos suggests including in the strategy the position responsible for updating content as well as the update frequency. “Many organizations have grand plans of updating content on a regular basis only to quickly run out of topics, leaving content to become stale. As a best practice, a specific employee is typically assigned to create and manage the company’s social media pages, so he/she can respond to messages and questions within 24 hours.”

2. Find an Internal Evangelist

This is a constant source of discussion right now on the Internet, but the bottom line is, some department needs to “own” social media. Lots of departments might be consulted when it comes to decision making, but ultimately someone has to be held accountable for the outcomes.

Which department ultimately gets the responsibility could be dependent upon the size of your organization and corporate culture. For example, Barger says social media at General Motors is “owned within the communications team, reporting up through the Vice President of Communications, who reports directly to the Chairman/CEO.  Social media leadership has a seat at the communications leadership table and acts as an integral part of the larger corporate communications function.”

Smaller organizations might not have that amount of structure, so responsibility might simply fall to sales or marketing.

Another option to consider is using external resources (i.e. consultants) for certain aspects of the strategy and internal resources for the rest. Barger explains, “We use internal resources whenever possible; given that two of GM’s main goals are to become more responsive to the public and to incorporate insight back into the organization, these are things we can only effectively do if it is our team who are engaged.  We use agency partners for monitoring/measurement, for identifying new opportunities and new influencers for us to reach out to, for video production, and for counsel on tactics/strategy.”

3. Consider Your Employees

This is a biggie. Organizations need to understand their employees’ level of knowledge and interest. Offer training.

And one noteworthy item for non-profits is to think about your volunteer base. Diane Gomez, public relations manager for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), mentions that not only is PRSA staff involved, but volunteers are as well. “This includes monitoring and interacting with members (and nonmembers) who reach out to us via these channels, and is in addition to pushing out information of interest to our members.”

In addition to posting GM’s social media policy, Barger explains several things the company did to convey the company’s approach. “We posted a 45-minute ‘Social Media 101’ interactive training course on the intranet that gives employees the basics on how/why/where to engage in social media. Additionally, we developed a ‘201’ level ‘train-the-trainer’ course that introduces more complete tools and tips. Those who’ve taken this course are authorized to train others within their departments on the basics of social media. Finally, we have an internal blog, ‘Making Conversation,’ that focuses on sharing lessons we’re learning through social media outreach.”

Though she’s the president of a smaller firm, Crystal Kendrick used a similar approach with The Voice of Your Customer. “Our employees are very social media savvy and understand how to technically use the sites. We discussed the spirit of the policy and reviewed examples of ineffective social media policies. Training for our employees focused on the strategic and professional applications of the social media sites. We use ‘key word rich’ content, approved messages and in some cases, scheduled time for posting.”

Gomez added they are encouraging staff to participate in social media on behalf of the organization. “We are looking to establish an overall strategy that departments will follow when deciding when and how to use social media.” I’ve found many companies developing job aids, such as flow charts or decision trees, to help employees determine when and how to respond to blogs and inquiries on other social networking sites.

4. Check Your Tech

While most social media doesn’t need a huge technology investment, you should still take a look at the technology capabilities of your company and make sure the system can support the strategy.

As Ramos reminds us, this includes making sure social media applications aren’t hidden behind firewalls. “Before any social media components are engaged, there needs to be an understanding across the organization of the following:

- Who will have access to the sites?
- Are there any firewalls that would prevent access?
- What are the rules about time spent and content posted on the sites?

He adds, “Due to some of the technology access restrictions, some organizations have opted to build their own internal technology to offer social media type forums without the complexities of changing firewalls or altering access rules. This also allows further features like locking down postings to help control inappropriate content.”

Kendrick took a different approach to the issue of employee time on social media applications by creating “social media breaks that are very similar to smoke breaks.”

5. Listen First

A lot can be learned by watching others. Don’t be afraid to ask questions on and offline so you can learn more.

Barger encourages companies to remember “that few ideas should be rejected out of hand; not everything is going to work, but in 95% of the cases, even if something doesn’t work there is value to be gained and lessons to be learned from the ‘failure.’ The only exceptions to this rule are efforts that would contradict the basic etiquette and/or rules of social media – transparency, openness, authenticity, and avoiding ‘pure traditional marketing’ plays, etc.”

According to Kendrick, “The first few weeks were a bit hectic.” Like GM, they began to share best practices among employees, identify expert users to follow and recommend connections. She notes, “We matched our target customers to the demographics of our connections and identified gaps in our networks. From there, we began to focus on making connections with persons in target companies, industries and geographic regions and joined groups and lists of industry groups to ensure that we maximized our exposure and business opportunities.”

Conclusion

During 2010, more companies are expected to explore and engage in social media activities. While some might categorize using a social networking application as easy, that doesn’t mean developing a strategy is simple. Proper planning and execution is the key to integrating social media into your organization.

What are some other key factors in developing a social media strategy? Be sure to post your ideas in the comments below.

More business resources from Mashable:

- 9 Great Document Collaboration Tools for Teams
- Mashable’s Social Media Guide for Small Businesses
- HOW TO: Use Social Media to Retain Customers
- Top Mobile Productivity Tools for the Small Business
- 5 Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses
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- 5 Easy Social Media Wins for Your Small Business

Images courtesy of iStockphoto, bluestocking, LockieCurrie, AndresrHafizov

It’s been a crazy year. Bank implosions, wars, Adam Lambert not winning American Idol... craziness I tell you! It has also been a crazy year for leaders. Leading organizations through a turbulent economy has been a Herculean effort.

Fortunately for me, I sit in a position where I can watch leadership trends unfold across the many industries and companies we work with here at thoughtLEADERS. We’re blessed to have the opportunity to train some of the brightest client organizations out there.

This year, we’ve seen four major trends take center stage. If you’ve missed them, you’re missing huge opportunities to improve your organization. As a leader, you need every edge you can get so I encourage you to explore these trends and figure out how you can take advantage of them. So in no particular order, here are trends you can't miss as a leader:

Trend #1: Social Media and Expanded Use of teh Interwebz

Yes, I’m pandering by writing about this. Just saying the words “social media” guarantees your article will be forwarded and retweeted across the blogosphere. Try it – click the little “tweet” button at the top of this post ;). It’s nauseating to see how explosive this space has been and the plethora of “experts” it has produced. Many of those so-called-experts are charlatans and you need to tread cautiously in this space.

That said, social media’s explosivity is a major trend leaders must appreciate. Your teams are using these tools (Toobla, twitter, facebook, blogs – if you haven’t heard of these you need to check them out). They read blogs like this one (unless your IT organization is SO paranoid that it blocks any form of streaming media including blogs – and yes, I know several that do). Your competitors are using it too (some better than others).

Figure it out. Understand the medium. Know how to play and how to manage it. You need policies on it. The best policy I’ve heard so far was a one liner: “Don’t do anything stupid.” You can’t regulate this stuff to death. Embrace it.

Use social media for recruiting, business development, and market research. My firm has benefited greatly from embracing it (new customers, partners, and insights). If you’re not fully aboard the social media train, buy a ticket. And yes, I deliberately misspelled “teh Interwebz” above – if you spent more time online you’d know it’s a web-funny that all the hip kids are saying these days.

Trend #2: Innovation Caused by the “More With Less” Dynamic

I sat in a meeting the other day where a very senior leader was lamenting his charter to do more with less. Two sentences later he said the current challenging times were requiring him to innovate more but he didn’t have the money to innovate. Wow. I was speechless. Hello! McFly! Ever heard the phrase “necessity is the mother of invention?” PLATO said that back around 340 BC!

Technology and connectedness afford us unbelievable opportunities to innovate at ever-decreasing costs. Example: a colleague of mine has created a very cool learning platform called Emerging Leadership Circle. It makes accessing great leadership training incredibly affordable for organizations (head on over to ELC for a look-see). The innovative part is he’s leveraging great content providers from other companies and delivering the service in the format of video lessons for a fraction of what other training costs. Innovative.

Great organizations regularly find ways to innovate by looking at how they can do things better, faster, and cheaper. Look at what Intel and AMD have done for computing based on Moore’s law. They’ve generated incredible innovations stemming from a drive to make things cheaper and better.

Ask yourself how your organization can be more innovative. How can you blow up your business to simultaneously eliminate waste and create new opportunities?

Trend #3: People Are Our Most Valuable Resource (cough, cough)

This is one of the emptiest statements I regularly hear organizations espouse. When someone says this, I ask one penetrating question: can you show me the actions that back up that statement? Befuddled faces follow.

Saying people are valuable and showing they’re valuable are two very different things. The statement looks great on a recruiting brochure but if you’re not backing it up with action, your associates will quickly figure that out and head for greener pastures.

Before you say something stupid like “Unemployment is 10% so they’re not going to leave if I don’t invest in them” I’m going to ask another penetrating question: what are they going to do when the job market recovers? They’re going to bail on you. Your choice is to train them now or lose them later.

I run a leadership development training company. Folks regularly ask me “How’s business?” My response is always “Fantastic!” They’re confused by this because many organizations cut training budgets as soon as things get tough. Fortunately we serve clients who invest in their people regardless of the economic environment. These companies understand investing now gives them an edge later.

Are you really investing in your people and backing up the “most valuable resource” statement? Because your competitors are…

Trend #4: Letting Your People Do Their Jobs

Okay, you got me – this isn’t only a trend from this past year. It has been a trend forever (at least for leaders who “get it”). The trendy thing about it is that many organizations AREN’T doing it so the ones that are have an edge in the marketplace.

You hire people and spend gobs of money paying them. You may as well get some return on that investment. The only way you can get that return, however, is to make them do their jobs. Here’s the rub – the great leaders in the audience who read that last sentence winced at the way it was worded. Great leaders don’t “make” people do their jobs. Great leaders create environments where people are excited to do their jobs. They’re excited to go above and beyond to perform outstanding work.

I constantly see examples of leaders who do this well. I don’t care what industry you’re in – EVERY leader can create an environment where their people can shine. I’ve seen it happen in retail stores. I’ve seen it happen at beer distributors. I’ve seen it happen in the military. Unfortunately I’ve also seen my share of “leaders” who are really detail oriented control freaks masquerading as leaders.

Is empowerment REALLY happening in your organization? Why not? Go change that. Now. If you don’t, there might be another reason for your team to hate you on top of the 10 reasons they already hate you.

The Trend is Your Friend

Stock market investors are familiar with the phrase “the trend is your friend.” Hopefully you, as a leader, are at the forefront of the aforementioned four trends. If you’re not, there’s still time to jump on them and do what you do best: lead your organizations to a better place.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Take pics and upload via embedded wifi. Pretty cool. It will be interesting to watch the competition between this technology and cameras that use www.eyefi.com cards to provide similar solution.