1.) What Should Be Prohibited?

Employees should be prohibited from engaging in any discussion that pertains to discrimi- nation, sexual harassment and company or client secrets. Employees should avoid partici- pating in any discussion that belittles or ridicules the value of the company’s product or service or any discussion that involves name-calling. Remind employees that any abuse of company policies, both online and offline, may lead to termination.

2.) What Can Be Positively Discussed Online By Employees?

The company should encourage employees to participate in social media. It’s a great medium to promote your service, product, brand and workplace. Companies can use social media to talk to potential customers, while customers can use it to share their experiences. It’s also a useful venue for customers to share experiences. It’s a great place to find the peo- ple who like your company. Consequently, employees must respect the people they’re talk- ing to. They must be knowledgeable and courteous when discussing the company. They must also be transparent by using their real names and stating the name of the company.

3.) What If All My Employees Don’t Understand Social Media?

If you don’t already have a “social media director,” we suggest that you ask a qualified vol- unteer to teach the rest of your staff about social media. Due to generation or seniority gaps, there may be some people who are not as familiar with social media. A class on social media can be a great morale booster for the team.

4.) Should The Social Media Policy Be Pertinent To Every Social Media Channel?

Yes, and it’s a good idea to specify what those channels include and to frequently update the list of approved sites. Currently, the most popular mass-appeal channels include blogs, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter. Your employees and customers are likely using many popular social media applications, which encourage the sharing of conversa- tions, texts, images, slides and videos.

5.) What Are The Initial Steps To Take When Developing A Policy?

The first step: Don’t call it a policy. Call them “guidelines.” The next step is to invite your staff members who are engaged in social media to help you formulate the guidelines.Get their advice and suggestions. Ask them what they want and tell them what you need. Employees adhere better to guidelines they’ve helped develop.

6.) Will The Company Be Monitoring Employees’ Posts And Profiles?

Since there is no privacy in the social media arena, the company should plan to “listen in” on all conversations about the company through the various social media monitoring pro- grams that are available. This is a good business practice that enables the company to par- ticipate in the conversation with customers and potential customers.

7.) How Long Should The Company’s Social Media Guidelines Be?

There is no rule. Some of the best guidelines are the shortest. The most important factor is that everyone understands them and that the guidelines encourage participation and dis- courage any negative actions that would bring harm to the company or its employees.

8.) Should Companies Allow Participation In Social Media For Personal Use At Work?

You’ll have to set your own rules on this one. Some business categories restrict or limit “personal social media.” Some businesses, such as restaurants, may not allow videos taken of the kitchen. The best way to tackle this issue is to meet with your staff and have them help you set the guidelines.

9.) If My Staff Is Participating In Social Media At Work, On Behalf Of My Company, What Should They Be “Talking” About?

It’s important to make sure your staff is engaging in interesting and valuable discussions. Without sounding like a commercial for the company, they may post about product bene- fits in “everyday situations,” special offers, interesting facts, share insights, tips and tricks, as well as share insights, respond to questions and invite suggestions.

10.) Some Of My Staff Members Are “Social Media Gurus.” How Can I Tap Into Their Expertise?

Simply talk to them. The generation utilizing social media has an open perspective on global communications. Brainstorm to explore ways to grow your company using social media. Get customer feedback and build and maintain a community of fans.

By creating social media guidelines, you’ll take an important step in navigating this changing media landscape. You’ll give your employees clear guidance about what kind of online behavior is encouraged and what kind of online behavior is prohibited. And by empowering them with this information, your employees can become online ambassadors for your brand and company.

Now that you’ve read our suggestions, use this template to help create your company’s social media guidelines.

How Important Is It To Be Listed On Google’s First Page?

It’s quite the accomplishment to land a spot on the first page of Google search results. All businesses are competing for that coveted top 10.

Most users trust Google’s ability to provide accurate search results and, as a result, spend more time clicking on the sites on the first page of results. Most users don’t visit the subsequent pages of search results.

If your company isn’t on the first page of search results, you have to ask, “How important is it to my company to be listed in the top 10 and how much money is my company losing on a daily basis by not being there?”

All of this leads to the importance of search engine optimization for your Web site. Although SEO plays an integral role in landing a top position, SEO needs other components, such as blogs and articles, to be effective.

The Super Bowl Revisited: Do You Remember Any Of The Ads?

It’s been more than a month since the big game and here’s the million-dollar question: “Do you remember any of the ads?” Maybe you recall the Snickers ad with Betty White. But what about the others?

The Super Bowl advertisers created great brand awareness, but at the same time, they lost a huge opportunity to increase their market share.

It was strange that only a few sponsors mentioned their Web sites and virtually none encouraged viewers to sign up as Facebook fans or Twitter followers or took advantage of lucrative mobile opportunities.

These companies missed out on profit-building opportunities. They could have collected names, e-mail addresses or mobile phone numbers of their fans and followed up with promotional events throughout the year.

Make sure you don’t miss out on similar opportunities. Connect with customers offline and online via e-mail and other platforms.

3. The 60 Second Close: Putting The Package Together

No one marketing element works as effectively as integrating and packaging several of them. Every message that you develop should refer back to a Web site, an e-mail sign-up page, a Facebook page or a Twitter profile. It’s the only way you can stay in touch with your customers on a regular and cost-effective basis.

It’s our responsibility to make sure that your messages resonate on a variety of online channels so you can develop long-term relationships with your customers. It’s part of our “fast forward” strategy.

If you’re ready to shift your gears to “fast forward,” and make sure your messages are integrated, then call us. We can get you there … faster than ever.

1. For The Umpteenth Time, This Year Will Be The Year Of Mobile Marketing

We’ve been saying this for the past three years, but all evidence points to 2010 being the year that mobile marketing finally takes its rightful place as one of the emerging platforms in building brand awareness and sales.

And why shouldn’t it? More and more people are using their smartphones for texting, receiving and responding to e-mail, watching TV shows, shopping for local businesses and products and getting their news. Many research companies are predicting that mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most popular method for accessing the Internet within three years.

What does this mean for you? A crash course in mobile marketing! But before you jump in, know that mobile marketing – like social media – may not be right for everyone. Mobile marketing programs are great for retailers, restaurants and any industry that wants to drive people to their business or Web site. And your Web site will be the key because it has to be optimized for easy cell phone navigation.

2. Have We Missed The Boat On The True Secret To Successful Marketing?

No marketing plan is going to work without one vital ingredient – content. Your content must be interesting, powerful, useful, informative, newsworthy and targeted to be effective.

Before you decide to do anything, ask yourself: “What interesting and relevant information can I regularly communicate to my audience over the long term?”

3. The 60 Second Close: Our “Fast Forward” Strategy

Two phenomenal things are going to happen this year that could affect your marketing efforts:

• Apple will drop its exclusivity with AT&T, and the iPhone is expected to become available to all wireless carriers. iPhone sales will increase from 15 million to 25 million phones per year, boosting the number of opportunities you have to get in front of people.
• There will be a shakeout and a re-definition of social media as businesses finally grasp the bottom line realities of being part of this medium. Businesses will ask tough questions to determine social media’s worthiness and its contribution to the bottom line.

As an advertising, marketing and communications firm, our top responsibility is to keep our clients thinking “fast forward.” If you’re ready to shift your gears to “fast forward,” call us. We can get you there … faster than ever.

AXIA, a boutique public relations and marketing firm, will use its NewsBureau media relations services and social media program to promote Sanidoor, Sani-Giene’s patented and touch-free public restroom door system. AXIA is the first PR firm to represent Sani-Giene.

“Over the years, I’ve become a believer that PR can be more powerful than traditional advertising,” said Gale Lemerand, Sani-Giene CEO and creator of Sanidoor. “This is our opportunity to spread the word about our unique touch-free public restroom door solution, Sanidoor.”

“According to the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses, only 43 percent of men and 54 percent of women wash their hands after using the restroom,” said Jason Mudd, AXIA’s principal. With the H1N1 scare and an overall interest in healthy living, we are thrilled to help Sani-Giene introduce its Sanidoor product nationally – and eventually internationally. The product is a health-conscious way to eliminate the spread of germs in public restrooms, and we look forward to its success.”

In May, Sanidoor will release its second-generation system, which will feature models developed specifically for swinging doors, latching units on cruise ships and single-use locking public restrooms. After years of detailed laboratory and field testing, the Sanidoor system entered national markets in 2009; Sanidoor will enter Canada in March and international markets in the second quarter of 2010. The Sanidoor system is already installed and eliminating germs in more than 300 public restroom locations in the United States. The second-generation system will feature a lighter motor, battery backup, international power supply and additional safety features.

Sanidoor is ADA compliant and holds international patents and trademarks. The company has domestic and international licensing and distributing opportunities available.

About Sanidoor
The Sanidoor system is a simple, cost-effective solution for touch-free, germ-free public restroom exiting. Approved to meet all U.S. and Canadian standards for automatic door openers, Sanidoor easily installs on existing public restroom doors, including retrofit and new construction.

Serial entrepreneur and restaurateur Gale Lemerand is the CEO of Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Sani-Giene. Lemerand, who also owns a major interest in 29 restaurants, invented Sanidoor after he witnessed an elite country club chef fail to wash his hands after using the restroom.

Sanidoor received the People’s Choice Award for “Best New Equipment Product” from the Florida Restaurant Association. In addition to the Sanidoor system, Sani-Giene sells and distributes many products, including AutoFaucet, AutoFlush, T Cell and touch-free sanitizer, soap and paper towel dispensers. Sani-Giene’s products help prevent the spread of germs in restaurants, schools, hospitals and other public restrooms across the United States. For more information, contact Megen Boswell at (800) 930-7264 or visit www.sanidoor.com.

About AXIA

AXIA is a boutique public relations firm specializing in national media relations serving public and private corporations. Headquartered in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., AXIA earns regional and national news coverage for its clients’ companies, products, services, ideas, opinions and experts through its NewsBureau media relations service. The company also offers Social NetWork, social media programs; MediaMaster, spokesperson training; CrisisPoint, crisis communications management; Insight, thought leadership; KeyNote, public speaking engagements; AwardAbility, award recognition; Onoma, branding; Webvention, web site design, Web 2.0 and search engine optimization; 360 Degrees/365 Days, marketing campaigns; SpecialAffects, special projects. For more information, contact AXIA at (866) 999-AXIA (2942) or www.axia.net.

1. Good News About E-mail; Bad News Is You Forgot How Useful It Really Is

E-mail remains the most popular and effective medium for sharing information online.

In a recent study from ShareThis.com:

• 46 percent of consumers said they share information via e-mail
• 33 percent said they share information via Facebook
• 14.5 percent said they use “other channels” to share information
• 6 percent said they share information via Twitter

Maintain and strengthen your e-mail marketing efforts. Your e-mail program and your Web site are the pillars of your online marketing efforts.

2. Offline Or Online? Where The Conversations Really Take Place

Ninety percent of conversations occur offline; 10 percent occur online. Despite the hype surrounding Facebook and Twitter, the fact is that only a minimal number of conversations occur on social media sites, according to research by Keller Fay Group.

Studies reveal that although 83 percent of the online population says they use social media, less than 5 percent are frequent users and contributors of information. And a study by Sysomos found that 75 percent of all Twitter activity comes from only 5 percent of users. When you consider these stats, the 90:10 ratio starts to makes sense.

Although social media channels remain an alternative venue for conversations, the vast majority of conversations – and the ones that are highly influential – are really happening at the office water cooler.

3. The 60 Second Close: How To Be Part Of The Water Cooler Conversation

Word of mouth is simply a conversation, a sharing of an experience, or a story about someone or something. Word of mouth is successful when people are talking about you on a consistent basis. But the secret is that you have to give them something to talk about. This may range from the ordinary – a great greeting over the phone – to the extraordinary – same-day delivery or something that goes beyond normal expectations.

Want your company to be part of the water cooler conversation? Is word of mouth part of your company’s marketing plan? If not, then call us. We can get you there … faster than ever.

This isn’t the first time that these North Pole residents have engaged AXIA. AXIA worked closely with Kringle after a Santa’s Workshop elf leaked material information about special gifts that were to be given to children. AXIA uses its CrisisPoint crisis management service to keep clients out of the spotlight or get them in front of an issue.

This year, AXIA worked diligently to save Christmas by helping find Rudolph. Rudolph, the most beloved reindeer, went missing around 8:45 p.m. after Thanksgiving dinner. Santa, his elves and all of the other reindeer, including Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, believed that Rudolph had gone outside to shake his antlers after a stuffing meal. But one of the elves discovered that was not the case after going outside to look for Rudolph. Santa and his crew immediately enlisted the help of AXIA, their most trusted PR and marketing partners.

AXIA efficiently responded to the situation and worked double time to get the job done. AXIA first used its Social NetWork service to send information via social media channels. AXIA created the Facebook group, “Help find our Favorite Reindeer, Rudolph!” The group drew 80 million members in the first 24 hours. AXIA also created a Twitter page dedicated to Rudolph’s disappearance and posted updates every 30 minutes. Some of the comments left by Rudolph fans read, “Please return home safely, Rudolph!” “We love you, Rudolph, and we hope that you are OK!” “Rudolph, you are our favorite reindeer and we can’t have Christmas without you!” People all over the world began logging on to their favorite social media sites to read and post updates about the search for Rudolph.

Secondly, AXIA employed its NewsBureau media relations service for information sharing. AXIA sent news releases and video news releases to every news outlet in the world. The story quickly became breaking news on CNN, BBC, FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC and every local station in between. These networks saw the highest ratings since the death of Michael Jackson.

Instead of listening to holiday songs on the radio, people tuned in to hear Rudolph announcements. Instead of going online to browse the Web or do holiday shopping, people were exclusively reading Rudolph updates.

AXIA contacted officials at the North Pole Police Department and suggested they hold an emergency news conference. The news conference updated people about how the Rudolph search was going and called for volunteers to participate in a worldwide search. Millions of people joined the search, including anxious children who took off from school to help find Rudolph.

Just as the news conference was beginning, one-hundred miles away, on the opposite end of the North Pole, Rudolph and his newfound sweetheart, Rudy, sat down to check Twitter and watch TV. To their surprise, they turned on the TV to find Santa speaking at the NPPD news conference, exclaiming that Rudolph still had not been found. Rudolph checked his Facebook account and discovered his image was on every page and his inbox was flooded with concerned messages. Rudolph immediately called Santa. Santa’s phone rang out in the middle of the world-televised news conference. Santa answered his phone in front of the entire world. “Rudolph!” Santa yelled in delight. “Is it really you?” People around the entire world cheered and hugged. Their favorite and only red-nosed reindeer had been found.

It turns out that Rudolph had met Rudy and fallen madly in love. So in love that they ran off together and didn’t have contact with anyone for weeks. Rudolph went back to Santa’s workshop where he was greeted by thousands of children, elves, reindeer and of course, Santa. All of Santa’s helpers, including the reindeer, were able to perform their duties as scheduled, ensuring a happy Christmas for all the children of the world. Looks like AXIA, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based PR and marketing firm, did it again – only this time, they saved Christmas!

1. Another Year And They’re Still Alive: The Real State Of Traditional Media

After yet another year of being declared dead, television, radio and even newspapers are still alive. Yes, they’ve been hurt like every other business and yes, just like every other business, they’re refining their business model. But before you leave them out of your sales-building plan, consider this:

• Television: 99 percent of video viewing was done on a television in the past year; less than 5 percent of TV viewing was DVR or TiVo playback. (Source: Ball State University’s Center for Media Design)
• Radio: Broadcast radio (free AM/FM radio) has the largest listening audience of all audio platforms (satellite, iPod, CDs) with 122 minutes of daily use, while CDs are at 72 minutes and portable audio players (iPods/mp3 players) are at 69 minutes. (Source: Ball State University’s Center for Media Design)
• Newspapers: 74 percent of adults read newspapers both online and offline. In addition, 82 percent of households with incomes of more than $100,000 read the paper online and/or offline, and newspapers are starting to successfully attract 18- to 34-year-olds to their Web sites. (Source: Integrated Newspaper Audience Report from Scarborough.com)

2. If Your Store Or Product Was A Magazine, Would You Read It?

Take a fresh look at your store, your product or your service and visualize it as a magazine. If you were browsing a bookstore, would you select your “magazine” from the rack?

When a consumer selects your store or product over the competitor, the selection criteria and rationale are similar to selecting one magazine over another.

Does your store or product fit this selection criteria?

• Front Cover: Attractive, colorful, bright and clean. Does it stand out from the rest? Does the overall look of the cover make you want to open the publication?
• Table Of Contents: Can you find what you’re looking for? Do you get an idea of what’s inside?
• Letter From The Publisher: The owner introduces him or herself to you and welcomes you to the magazine with a little background and behind-the-scenes tidbits about the issue.
• Letters To The Editor: The magazine is interested in what you have to say, and you are encouraged to send in feedback.
• Articles: Are the stories clear, concise and easy to read? Are they easy to find? Do they entertain you? Do they create a buzz? Are the stories within your interests?
• Overall Value: Is the magazine worth reading? Does it have staying power and positive word of mouth? Will you subscribe?

The 60 Second Close: A Year To Forget Or A Year To Remember?

It’s been both a year to forget and a year to remember. It’s also been a year to learn. Importantly, this year ends with the realization that everything old is new again. And that’s the mantra for 2010.

January is a new chapter, and the first paragraph is about new dreams. If you’d like help achieving those dreams, then call us. We can get you there … faster than ever.

Mobile users are not identical to Web users. They have different needs, wants and preferences. Early mobile users were younger, predominantly male, affluent and tech-savvy. But newer user groups include busy white-collar professionals, multitasking parents, business travelers dashing through airports—or just killing time waiting to board a plane or get through the security checkpoint. And of course, millennials scarcely leave home without their mobile devices in hand.

There is a growing demographic of cell-phone-only users, i.e., having no land-line phone service. (Telemarketers everywhere, face your destiny…) These users skew younger (46 percent in this group are 18-29 year-olds), with lower incomes than typical land-line users (but younger adults do tend to earn less than older age groups). Only 16 percent of individuals in this group fall into the $75,000+ income bracket, according to a 2008 Pew Research Center for the People and the Press study. During the recession, cell-phone-only use expanded to include segments of all demographic groups, as consumers recognized cost-savings by switching phone service to their mobile plans.

A Deloitte & Touche study in early 2008 found a growing number of cell-phone-only users increasingly use their handsets as entertainment devices—a 24 percent increase for this use in just one year. This finding aligns with the increased interest of young adult women in casual gaming.

In 2009, with wider adoption of smart phones and the spread of wi-fi access, studies tracked the upsurge in mobile web use. And new demographic groups moved front and center. The heaviest mobile web users are multi-tasking parents, according to Scarborough Research. Working moms are the new “power users,” relying on mobile devices for information, organization, communications, networking and shopping.

Another group to watch is seniors (aged 65 and older). According to Nielsen, mobile web use among seniors increased 67 percent between July 2008 and July 2009. And Forrester Research reported that mobile access of social networking sites doubled in the past six months. Increased usage is attributed to more smart phones, better user experience and increased social interaction. Mobile is meeting our demand for immediacy in online interactions, tapping into our need for “right now.”

Currently, social identities are fragmented; users have multiple profiles across multiple networks. In the future, “universal social IDs will enable a portable identity that will empower consumers. And that is when the mobile phone will become the hub of social computing activities—the glue that holds the social graph together,” says Dan Butcher of MobileMarketer.com.

Mobile sites need to offer content that satisfies both the immediate needs of mobile users—current, right-this-minute news and information and trusted resources from known brands—and sometimes, a desire for something fun and amusing that they can play, read or interact with for a few minutes.

Useful, functional apps, and strategies aimed at providing positive user experiences will be most successful. Marketers who rely on gimmicks—ringtones, wallpaper, irrelevant text alerts, and poorly targeted and timed coupon offers—will fall by the wayside as mobile users become more sophisticated.

Current successful mobile campaigns integrate with and add interest to other media, broadening the user experience and more effectively drawing users into the brand interaction. Mobile users should be invited to participate; push marketing is just mobile spam.

Chris Quick, mobile media analyst at The Nielsen Company, suggested marketers can use mobile to “reach consumers at each step in the marketing funnel—awareness, trial, persuasion and loyalty—to deliver brand affinity and drive sales.”

Is social media a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution? Welcome to the World of Socialnomics.

• Is social media a fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?
• By 2010, Generation Y will outnumber Baby Boomers and 96% of them will have joined a social network.
• Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web.
• 1 out of 8 married couples met in the U.S. last year via social media.
• Years to reach 50 million users: Radio 38, TV 13, Web 4, iPod 3. Facebook100 million in 9 month. iPod applications: 1 billion in 9 months.
• If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s four largest, with China being 1st, India being 2nd and the U.S. being 3rd.
• China’s ‘QZone’ has over 300 million using their services.
• US Depart of Education: On average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction.
• 1 in 6 higher education students are enrolled in online curriculum.
• The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females.
• Ashton Kutcher and Ellen DeGeneres have more Twitter followers than the entire population of Ireland, Norway and Panama.
• 80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices. People update anywhere, anytime. Imagine what that means for bad customer experiences
• Generation Y and Z consider e-mail passé. Boston College stopped distributing e-mail addresses to incoming freshman.
• YouTube is world’s 2nd largest search engine with over 100 videos.
• Wikipedia has over 13 million articles. Studies show it’s more accurate than Britannica. 78% of these articles are non-English
• If you were paid $1 for every time an article was posted on Wikipedia, you would earn $156.23 per hour.
• There are over 200,000 blogs. 54% of bloggers post content or tweet daily.
• 25% of search results for the world’s top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content.
• 34% of bloggers post opinions about products & brands. Do you like what they’re saying about your brand?
• People care more about how their social graph ranks products and services than how Google ranks them.
• 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations. Only 14% trust advertisements.
• Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI. 90% of people that can TiVo ads do.
• Hulu has grown from 63 million total streams in April 2008 to 373 million in April 2009.
• 70% of 18 to 34-year-olds have watched TV on the Web. Only 33% have ever viewed a show on DVR or TiVo.
• 25% of Americans in the past month said they watched a short video on their phone.
• 35% of book sales on Amazon are for the Kindle.
• 24 of the 25 largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation.
• In the near future, we will no longer search for products and services. They will find us via social media.
• Social media isn’t a fad; it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.
• More than 1.5 million pieces of content such as web links, news stories, blogs, notes, & photos, are shared on Facebook daily.
• Successful companies in social media listen first, and sell second.
• Successful companies in social media act like party planners, aggregators, & content providers than traditional advertisers.

1. Watch Your Web Site: Google Shaking Up Search Results

• Before the year ends, Google is expected to roll out a major search algorithm update called Caffeine. This update will include an increase in indexed Web pages and a more comprehensive search results page.
• Many corporations are concerned that the update will affect their Web sites’ important Google rankings.
• Want to get an early preview of how Caffeine might affect your site’s ranking? Click here: http://cartercole.com/googlevsgoogle.html

2. The Next Big Thing In Marketing: Human Trust

• As we become mesmerized by and inundated with new technologies, we tend to forget that there is one deciding factor when purchasing a service or product: human trust.
• A stroke on a keyboard, an e-mail or a tweet will never replace the experience of meeting someone, shaking his or her hand and engaging in a conversation. When that happens, there’s trust, and with trust comes customer loyalty.
• As the holidays approach, we urge you to try the next big thing in marketing – human trust.

The 60 Second Close: Getting Out Of Survival Mode And Ready For 2010

• The past year has probably been the toughest business time of your life. But it’s time to look forward. With the new year around the corner, what are your plans for 2010?
• Here’s our recommendation: While some of your competitors are still reeling and downsizing, now is the best time to increase your market share.
• If you’re ready to get out of survival mode and develop a plan that will increase your sales to the levels you’ve always dreamed of, then call us. We can get you there … faster than ever.