@ omgzam: KUTGW

In a December 17 post on Social Media Today titled 10 Tips to Get Retweeted, author omgzam instructed us to “use longer words and more syllables.”

“Avoid abbreviations and emoticons but instead use better language with more syllables,” he wrote. “Don’t treat everyone on Twitter as stupid.”

While I don’t necessarily agree that better language and more syllables necessarily go hand-in-hand, to his raising the issue of language I say, “Hallelujah.” That’s a four syllable word for anyone who is counting.

As a long-time admirer of the written word, I wholeheartedly applaud the use of phrases such as “my condolences” rather than ☹. And I’ve always been more partial to “excuse me for one moment” than “BRB.”

My love of words aside, B2B marketers take note: Yes, your customers are busy. No, you shouldn’t waste their time or make them work too hard to understand what you have to offer them. But you shouldn’t dumb down your messages, either. Nor should you abbreviate every word so you can tell them everything your product has ever done and everything it ever might do.

Use your 140 characters wisely, not as an abbreviation or an emoticon dumping ground. That’s just my $.02. And KUTGW? According to didyouknow.org, it means “keep up the good work.” ☺

The New “Face” of PPC

If you’re like most people, when you think of venturing into the world of Pay-Per-Click advertising, the first name that pops into your mind is good ol’ Google. And with good reason – they are the biggest and have the easiest user interface and reporting structure available – in the humble opinion of this blogger.

But there are some drawbacks. (Insert clap of thunder here.) No matter how well you target and refine your PPC efforts, you’re still at the whim of random people that have no interest in your offering clicking on your ad.

Enter Facebook PPC with its nifty, handy-dandy demographic targeting ability.

This means, simply, that your ads will only appear on the Facebook pages of the people that mirror your target audience. You can drill down and focus on age, gender, relationship status, interests, groups, the list goes on an on. With Facebook, you can be super-specific in your ad copy. Forget general statements like “Find an ideal relationship,” and focus more on “Ladies, are you 32, single, and enjoy golf?”

Now, the only drawback is that you can’t point these ads directly to your existing landing pages. It’s suggested you send them to your Facebook page and let them socialize with your brand. That’s where the beauty of social marketing comes into play. They get to know your brand, but don’t feel like they’re being hit over the head with marketing lingo.

Facebook PPC shouldn’t be a substitute for more traditional PPC efforts. But it is a great way to talk to –and befriend – your exact target for far less than you’d ever spend on Google.

no strategy + no investment = no return on social media

When it comes to social media, the ability to measure ROI is a top-of-mind topic among marketers and agencies alike. Watch this video and learn ways you can track the payoff of your social media efforts.

KLM's Matt Pavledakes talks social media measurement.

Social media rule #1: don't masturbate

Fellow marketers often ask for my thoughts on the "dos and don'ts" of social media. Here's the short answer: do participate, but don't masturbate. Yes, you read that correctly. Now let me explain.

Take status updates. Too often people use 140 characters to talk about themselves in ways that simply are not interesting, informative or entertaining to anyone but themselves. And talking about oneself in a way that benefits nobody else is the social media equivalent of masturbation.

Let's look at some examples. The following are a mix of personal and professional status updates from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn that are masturbatory in nature:

'Can't sleep'
'We want to be your Social Media Monitoring Partner'
• 'Still in office at 10-ish on a Fri PM after a successful week of biz''
  

These updates are masturbatory because none of them talks to anyone but the author. None of them informs or entertains other people, at least not in any CONSTRUCTIVE WAY. If you are struggling with how to make social media benefit you or your business, start by talking about something more than you or your business. Put forth ideas. Share meaningful observations. Offer helpful hints for people in your network.

Here are two helpful tweets from folks I follow:

• 'Cool Tip: You can bid for travel package & Conf Pass for JavaOne on Ebay, cool way to bundle up your trip!' (this update also included a URL)
• '[Name] has a pair of tickets for sale to the Chicago Cubs/Dodgers game on Thursday night (May 28) if anyone is interested'
  

A colleague of mine once told me that social media is like a business meeting or a cocktail party: If all you do is talk about yourself, you'll probably speak to everyone in the room, but nobody is likely to listen.