I got an email from a guy yesterday. I have talked on the phone with him once and had coffee with him once. We are working together to serve a mutual client. So far, so good right? Well he sends me this email that basically says “When you get this email please call me.” What he forgot to include in the email was a phone number where I could reach him. Ugh! Why do people do this?

Email Etiqutte Tips

1. When you email someone and ask them to call you back ALWAYS leave a call back number. In this busy professional world of ours people don’t have the time to track down your phone number. Taking the time to type your phone number demonstrates professional courtesy and it just makes sense.
2. Create a signature for your emails and include it with EVERY email that you send.

There are three simple reasons why you should do this – The ABC’s of Email Etiqutte

1. Access - it provides your recipient with the necessary information to make contact with you.
2. Branding - a signature is a way to communicate to the digital world who you are and what you do.
3. Connection - Not only does it provide the necessary information for your intended recipient, but if your email happens to get forwarded by one or more individuals, you are creating a connecting point for others to reach you. Instant marketing tool.

None of us would write a hand-written letter to someone without signing our name to it? As a professional why would you send an email without your professional signature?

I use a signature tool called WiseStamp – www.wisestamp.com - I love it! It lets me create a professional looking signature file that is included in all of my emails. It also lets me include social media icons that link to social media profiles that I am active in like Facebook and Twitter

My signature file looks like this:

To Our Success!

Greg Cross
Owner | Web Guy
Cross Creative, Inc. | creativitycaptured
Websites :: Social Media :: Email and Mobile Marketing
Direct | 317.572.7677
www.crosscreative.cc
Directions to Our Office
Interested in meeting? | www.meetwithgreg.com

Awarded “Businessman of the Year for 2009″
by the Greenfield Chamber of Commerce

1. Brainstorm 5 Top Keywords
When you first begin your domain name search, it helps to start with 5 terms or phrases (more if you can think of them) in mind that best describe the domain you’re seeking. Once you have this list, you can start to pair them up or add prefixes and suffixes to create good domain name ideas. For example, if you’re launching a mortgage related domain, you might start with words like – mortage, finance, home equity, interest rate, house payment. Once you have created your list take those words, and then begin adding other qualifying words and prefixes and suffixes to them then. For example, with the word “mortgage” try www.mortgagespot.com or www.easymortgage.com.

2. Make Your Domain Name Unique
Having your website confused with a popular site already owned by someone else is a recipe for disaster. Rule of Thumb: Avoid domains that are simply the plural, hyphenated or misspelled version of an already established domain.

3. If Possible, Only Choose Dot-Com Available Domains
If you’re not concerned with type-in traffic, branding or name recognition, you don’t need to worry about this one. However, if you’re at all serious about building a successful website over the long-term, you should be worried about all of these elements, and while directing traffic to a .net or .org is fine, owning and 301′ing the .com is critical. With the exception of the very tech-savvy, most people who use the web still make the automatic assumption that .com is all that’s out there – don’t make the mistake of locking out or losing traffic to these folks. As a general rule .org domains are associated to noprofit organizations. The .net domain is one of the original top-level domains. It was initially intended to be used only for the computers of network providers, however, there are no formal restrictions on who can register a .net domain name. Therefore, while still popular with network operators, it is often treated as a second .com.

4. Make it Easy to Type
If a domain name requires considerable attention to type correctly, due to spelling,
length or the use of un-memorable words or sounds, you’ve lost a good portion of your
branding and marketing value. I’ve even heard usability folks toute the value of having the
letters include easy-to-type letters (which I interpret as avoiding “q,” “z,” “x,” “c,” and “p”).

5. Make it Easy to Remember
Remember that word-of-mouth and SERPs (search engine results page) dominance marketing (where your domain consistently comes up for industry-related searches) both rely on the ease with which the domain can be called to mind. You don’t want to be the company with the terrific website that no one can ever remember to tell their friends about because they can’t remember the domain name.

6. Keep the Name as Short as Possible
Short names are easy to type and easy to remember (the previous two rules). They also allow for more characters in the URL in the SERPs and a better fit on business cards and other offline media.

7. Don’t register a domain containing the digit “0” in it, unless it is going to be part of a recognizable word (like 1000 or 2000).
This is because the digit “0” is often confused with the vowel “O.”  If you feel that you must register a domain with the digit “0,” make sure that you also register the corresponding domain containing the vowel “O.”

8. Avoid Copyright Infringement
This is a mistake that isn’t made too often, but can be disastrous for a great domain and a great company when it does. To be sure you’re not infringing on anyone’s copyright with your site’s name, visit www.copyright.gov and search before you buy.

9. Try to avoid using domains that contain ‘2’ for “to,” ‘4’ for ‘for,’ ‘u’ for ‘you.’
Your customers will easily get confused. However, if you must register such a domain, register the expanded form of the domain as well, i.e. if you are registering “FirstAidCPR4U.com,” also register “FirstAidCPRForYou.com.”

10. Set Yourself Apart with a Brand
Using a unique name is a great way to build additional value with your domain name. A “brand” is more than just a combination of words, which is why names like mortgageforyourhome.com or shoesandboots.com aren’t as compelling as branded names like bankrate.com or lendingtree.com.

11. Reject Hyphens and Numbers
Both hyphens and numbers make it hard to give your domain name verbally and falls down on being easy to remember or type. I’d suggest not using spelled-out or roman numerals in domains, as both can be confusing and mistaken for the other.

12. Search for Deleted Domain Names
Domain names that were once registered, but have expired turn up every day. With some research you might be able to find one of these names that would be a good fit for your business. You can search for deleted domains at www.deleteddomains.com

Need a domain name? Visit GoDaddy.com

I enjoy a good yard sale. It’s amazing how on some Saturday mornings a big yard sale, especially where a  whole community is having yard sales, will get me up early. Cleaning out my garage or pulling weeds in the garden rarely motivates me to rise early on a Saturday, but a yard sale …

I enjoy it best when I stop by a yard sale and find a particular item of interest and as I reach out to pick up or touch the item the owner will say, ” You know there’s a story behind that …” Do tell me more. I love the stories behind peoples stuff because it makes the item all the more interesting.

Have you ever watched the Antiques Road Show? It’s a show that let’s people bring their stuff (some mighty expensive stuff at times) to a group of antique experts. These experts look over the stuff and then offer an appraisal for what they think the item is worth. If you have ever watched the show, it’s interesting to note that when there is a story behind the item of interest the value of the item typically goes up.

The value of your product or service goes up when your marketing tells a great story.

To Be Effective Your Product or Service Has to Tell a Story

Great marketing tells a story. April Dunford wrote a great blog titled The Importance of Storytelling in Marketing, and in her blog she wrote:

Tell me a fact and I’ll learn.
Tell me a truth and I’ll believe.
But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.

The most common problem I see in smaller companies is the inability to describe what they do in  simple language (read April’s post on that here). The second biggest problem is bringing that description to life with stories.

Does your marketing tell a story? If not, here are some helpful tips from Dunsford on what makes a good product story:

Characteristics of a Good Product Story

1. Clearly illustrates the product’s unique value – A great story that illustrates the value of any product in your segment isn’t all that useful.  It needs to highlight the differentiating value of your product.
2. Short, and easy to tell and memorable – You want sales folks, marketers, and customers to tell the story.  They won’t be able to do that if it is difficult to understand or overly long.  Keep it short and to the point and people will be more likely to remember it.
3. Relevant to your target customers – The story needs to be highly relevant to your target customers.  Telling a great story about a customer outside of your segment isn’t all that valuable.
4. Illustrates measurable, concrete results – The results or the “what happened” part of the story needs to be concrete and ideally quantifiable.  General statement like “improved productivity” don’t have the punch of “saved a million dollars”.

I was recently interviewed by Derek Smith from the Daily Reporter of Greenfield, Indiana. Derek was writing an article about smartphones and wanted to get some of my perspectives on smartphones and how they impact our daily lives. You can read the full article below.

CELL PHONES: THE NEXT HIGH-TECH DINOSAUR?

Upwardly mobile Experts say effect of smartphones far-reaching

By DEREK R. SMITH
dsmith@greenfieldreporter.com

GREENFIELD — A week after buying his iPad, Brad Main is still trying to grasp all the things he can do with Apple’s hot-selling mobile device.

“I got this instead of a phone because you can do moreSkype on an iPad,” Main said Friday while enjoying a break at Starbucks in Greenfield. Skype is an application that lets users make voice calls over the Internet.

Main works in Greenfield but travels a lot. He communicates by Skype at a cost of pennies on the dollar compared to the price of an international phone call. He also downloaded Facebook to his iPad to help him keep in touch with family, friends and long-lost classmates.

Although he wouldn’t type a letter on his iPad, Main thinks such mobile devices will have long-reaching effects on how people live, work and communicate.

“I firmly expect that the laptop computer will be in a museum in 25 years,” he said.

Ball State communications expert Michael Hanley predicted last December that 2010 would be “the year of the smartphone” as millions of Americans upgrade from standard cell phones.

Hanley now thinks he may have underestimated the impact that smartphones are having on our lives. Whether we’re at an airport or waiting for a bus, smartphones are useful in keeping us connected and entertained when we’re on the go, he said.

Although the iPad – a touch-screen, handheld device for reading books, browsing the web and a host of other applications – isn’t technically a smartphone, “the iPad frenzy has turned up the heat” of consumer interest in mobile technologies, Hanley said.

Smartphones merge computer and communications technologies. Instead of just taking calls and keeping contacts, smartphones like a Blackberry or iPhone allow us to do things like record video, send and receive e-mail, browse the Internet and work on documents.

“Mobile is more for ‘snacking’ than eating a big meal,” Hanley said. “It’s based on the amount of free time you have, and it’s also based on your location.”

Mobile ‘snacks’ might not sound like a communications revolution, but the free time adds up to an estimated four to six hours a day, Hanley added.

Local technology expert Greg Cross doesn’t see why anyone would buy a standard cell phone today instead of a smartphone. “My smartphone becomes a conduit for me,” he said. “It opens up the creativity.”

Take, for instance, the ability to interact with others worldwide through social networking sites like Twitter, which allows people to communicate in “Tweets” of up to 140 characters.

“The smartphone only helps to perpetuate the whole social media game,” said Cross, owner of Cross Creative, a Greenfield based web design and digital marketing firm. “Do you have to have a smartphone to use Twitter? No, but people who are avid users of Twitter have that on their phone.”

Hanley, director of Ball State’s Institute for Mobile Media Research, has been researching college students’ communication trends for seven years. In March, 49 percent of surveyed Ball State students said they have smartphones – up from 27 percent in a February 2009 survey. “It is a truly amazing growth of a technology, almost doubling in one year,” Hanley said. “College students are kind of leading the charge.”

Technologies for smartphones continue to develop at a breakneck pace. February data showed an across-the-board rise in the percentages of smartphone subscribers using their phones for sending text messages, using a web browser, downloading “apps,” playing games, accessing social networking sites like Facebook and listening to music, according to comScore, the digital marketing intelligence firm.

Android, an open-source operating system for smartphones, has been shaking up the smartphone marketplace in recent months. Google allows any mobile phone manufacturer to integrate the Android operating system into their phones, while other companies like Apple have proprietary systems.

With Android, Google has seen rapid gains in smartphone market share as more companies have introduced Android compatible devices. However, Research in Motion – maker of the Blackberry devices – continues to lead the pack of smartphone manufacturers, while Apple has remained steady in recent months at about 25 percent market share, according to February data from comScore.

The latest numbers show that 31 percent of American mobile subscribers 18 and older use smartphones, Hanley said. But have we really reached the tipping point where the average consumer will want to buy a smartphone? Not everybody has a smartphone – or even wants one.

Greenfield resident Michelle Embry bought a Samsung Galaxy after breaking her Blackberry. “When I broke it, I didn’t have insurance, so I had to downgrade,” Embry said. The cost difference was the deciding factor, she added. Embry was willing to pay about $125 more for a smartphone, but she said the cost difference was $299. Embry loves to text on her Galaxy phone, but she misses some of the things she used to do with her Blackberry. “It has no way to link to the computer,” Embry said of her Galaxy. “Everything has to be sent by text message and downloaded.”

Embry’s friend Michelle Allen has a good grasp of smartphone technologies, yet she prefers to use a pre-paid Virgin Mobile phone. She says she doesn’t use her cell phone much and has a landline phone with unlimited long-distance.

“I think people are way too addicted to their phones,” Allen said. “People are too busy doing this (looks down and acts as if she’s texting) to pay attention to all that’s going on around them.” Others are excited about the possibilities of what’s to come.

Cross thinks we haven’t yet gotten a true sense of all the smartphone technologies that will be coming down the pike. He and Hanley expect smartphone technologies to spur another trend: a rise in mobile marketing.

Dairy Queen, for example, sends coupons directly to Cross’s smartphone. He has also seen this type of mobile marketing at sporting events, with an advertisement urging a captive audience to text a number for a special deal.

With more than 200 million American cell phone users, mobile marketing represents the fastest-growing advertising method, according to Indy Mobile Marketing, a Fishers business that specializes in such strategies. Forty percent of major brands have already developed mobile marketing campaigns, according to the firm’s Web site, http://indymm.com. The site lists 47 Indianapolis-area companies that have a text messaging customer list.

“Couponing has grown rapidly in the last two or three years,” Hanley said. “There are no boundaries to text something to any person on any (phone) carrier.” More dynamic advertising ads need to be more carrier-specific, he added. The overall economy underpins the rate of growth in mobile advertising, Hanley said.

While the recession has slowed such efforts, many advertising agencies are starting to hire and pump more money into mobile advertising strategies, he added. Smartphones have built-in global positioning system (GPS) technology that can transmit where you’re located at any given time. The implications for advertisers are obvious: nearby customers can receive special offers direct to their cell phones that entice them to buy a particular product.

Despite the new marketing technologies, Cross believes that understanding your audience remains a key to mobile marketing success. Another application for the GPS technology is popular games like Four Squarethat allow people to “check in” at thousands of places. You earn points and badges based on the number of times you check in and can also see where your friends are located. “It’s another tool for us to connect,” Cross said, “but you’re doing it all through your cell phone.”

Smartphone apps like Yelp and Fandango allow you to locate area businesses in a matter of seconds, Cross said.

Cross, 47, said it’s especially important for his generation to keep up with the newer technologies. “You’re going to have to get on it, or you’re going to get left behind,” Cross said. “I don’t think this stuff is that hard to learn. Maybe that’s just because I have such an affinity for it.”

The iPad is just the second Apple product that Main has ever owned. As he caught up on his e-mail at Starbucks Friday, he reflected on the future of emerging mobile technologies. Main said he’s started a Twitter account since getting his iPad, but he hasn’t figured out Twitter’s nuances quite yet. “It’s sort of like cell phones when they started out,” Main said of the iPad. “It’s probably a whole new thing that (we’ll get a full sense of all it can do) in two or three years.”

Among Hanley’s 2010 predictions is that many more Americans will watch live television on their smartphones. He also expects Google to challenge Apple, with Google emerging as a major player in mobile advertising.

Cross carries a Samsung Moment smartphone that has the Android operating system. He expects future mobile technologies to involve much more video and live television programming. He says a Sprint smartphone called the Evo will pave the way for mobile videoconferencing. “It’s going to make our lives more dynamic in the truest sense of the word,” Cross said of the emerging technologies. “The boundaries are unlimited. It’s just a matter of what the creative minds can put to (our) touch.”

On average I attend 5-7 networking events a month (I really believe in networking). One of the hallmark disciplines that occurs at these networking events is the exchanging of business cards. I estimate that at the end of every month I collect 150-200+ business cards. That’s close to 2,400+ business cards a year (some of you collect way more than that I’m sure). What continues to amaze me as I exchange business cards with people is how many bad, I mean really crappy business cards there are out there.

If you grew up where I grew up you were told since you were a little tot “don’t judge a book by its cover.” I have a confession to make: I judge a business by its business card.

When another business person hands me thier business card
I immediately judge it on the following four criteria …

• First I give it the ole “flex test” … Is it flimsy or firm? Flimsy does not impress me, nor will it impress a prospective customer. We’re talking pennies per card to get the nice thick card – spend the extra pennies.
• The second thing I look for is a website address (I’m a web guy). No website listed communicates to me one of two things. One, either you have one and were not forward thinking enough to actually consider putting it on your business card. Secondly, you don’t have one, which may mean you have not seriously invested in your branding and marketing budget.
• Thirdly, I look for an email address. If the email address is a consumer email address like “hotmail.com”, “yahoo.com” or even worse “aol.com” (yikes!), then it communicates to others that your business has not taken the fundamental steps to secure its brand. In other words, people may not take you and the services or products you offer seriously.

  If done right, your email address and website should match. For example, my email address isgreg@crosscreative.cc – my company website address is – www.crosscreative.cc

• Fourthly, I look at the branding. Does your business card have a look and feel that tells me who you are and most importantly what you do? Does the aesthetic’s (colors, font choices, etc.) of your card match the aesthetic’s of your website? If not, then roll up your marketing sleeves and make them match.

A business card is one of the most affordable and efficient marketing tools you have. You get one chance to make a good impression with prospective clients. Don’t blow that impression by doing things on the cheap. Integrate the fundamentals I listed above. Today, review your current business card. If it violates any of the above, make the decision to hire someone to design you a professional business card. You’ll thank me later.

Watch this video to learn some simple Social Media ROI facts from Erik Qualman of Socialnomics.net

You Cannot Afford To Do Nothing
Whether you are a microbusiness with only 1 or 2 employees, a nonprofit looking to increase donations or a church seeking ways to be more relevant in the community where you serve, social media is something you cannot afford to overlook. You cannot afford to do nothing. The social media tidal wave is here. Are you swimming with the current or against it?

On January 4, 2010 I made a strategic move to relocate my office from my home to the heart of historic downtown Greenfield, IN. Perhaps more strategic than moving to our new dowtown location, which I am absolutely loving, was to co-share the space with Rocky Walls and Zach Downs of 12 Stars Media Productions. We are calling our new downtown office The Marketing Loft. We have great plans to use the space strategically to serve clients and prospective clients.

The move to create The Marketing Loft was three-fold …
1. To serve our respective clients better
2. To lower our overhead by sharing the expense of office space
3. To be part of the Historic Downtown Greenfield Business District (Cross Creative and 12 Stars are proud members of Greenfield Mainstreet)

At the heart of what 12 Stars Media does is professional video production and delivery. Cross Creative’s core commitment has been to provide clients with websites, social media and email marketing consulting.

On February 26, 2010 we had a private party for our families. Our family has been very supportive of our entreprenuerial ventures and this night was no different. Over twenty-five family members from Cross Creative and 12 Stars Media showed up to express their support and encouragement. We had a great time and some great food that was all made by Rocky. Thanks Rocky – you did a great job! You can cook for me anytime bro!

On Friday, May 14, we will have a Public Open House. We will keep you posted as the date draws near. We hope you will be able to come! However, if you just can’t wait until May 14, please feel free to stop by 7 American Legion Place, Greenfield, IN (right above The Bread Ladies) and say “HI!”

1. BLOG BLOG BLOG – Make sure your website has relevant, well written blogs. I know, I know … Greg where am I going to find the time to write a blog? It’s like anything else – start with one and grow it from there. Blogs are the greatest, most single way to drive traffic to your website. I will write more about blogs in a upcoming blog – smile.

2. Be active in social media groups that are of the same topic that your website is. This will help you to be seen as an expert in your field and increase visits to your website. Always provide links back to your website when you post to these groups – sort of like leaving a bread crumb for people to follow. If they are interested or even remotely curious, they will click the link to your website.

3. If you don’t already have one, have a graphic designer create a PROFESSIONAL business card that reflects your branding. If you use Twitter, then put your twitter account on your business card. Do you have a Facebook Fan page? Put it on your business card. Make sure you have your website domain name on your business card. I can’t tell you how many business cards I get that don’t have their website on it. Ugh! And then finally, pass out your business card everywhere you go. Your business card is the most affordable marketing tool you have to drive traffic to your website.

The top most accessed content on church websites is “I’m New.”

I’m New! The Study Results

In our church website analytics study of more than 50 church websites, we discovered that the most accessed content on church websites other than the homepage falls into a grouping we are calling “I’m New”. These are pages related to people attending for the first time, those who are looking for service times or locations, those looking for other information about the church and its beliefs and doctrine, or those who have no knowledge of Jesus Christ.

The most important church website content

For our survey respondents, a quarter indicated that I’m New church website content was the most important to them of all the content on their church website. The only content considered more important was Sermon downloads. Other church website content in the study included, media, events, ministry, and group related sections. In our study, visitors to I’m New content view each page on average for one minute, and about half the time, they leave (bounce) immediately.

Ready to Engage Church Website New Visitors

A clear I’m New section sends a signal to the user that this church has thought about and prepared for their needs whether they know or don’t know what they are looking for. This church realizes that the person who clicks on I’m New wants information right then because they want to engage the church on some level. “I need this, where can I find it?” If the process of finding out information is difficult, someone is likely to leave and may end up not engaging that church again. This is something that falls under basic web usability 101.

Church Staff, Locations, Times, and other Visitor Information

A third of our surveyed church members said they accessed church staff, contact, or other visitor information at least once a month, and almost half sought out information about their pastors, elders, and other leadership at least once a month. It makes sense, if you’re looking for a church, or even curious about the church period, you may want to know about who is in charge, and also how to contact them. Our church website analytics study also indicated that over three-quarters of our respondents access service information such as times, locations, and directions at least once a month. Half of those checked out church service information weekly. Could you imagine trying to find out where a church met, or what time it met, and not being able to easily find that information with one click? This is information people are trying to access all the time, whether members of the church, or not!

Church Website Content: What do you believe? What’s your story?

Almost half of all visitors are browsing through their church’s beliefs/mission/values at least once a month. The same amount looked up information about their church’s history or story at least once a month, and half of those look up this information every couple weeks.

Newcomers want to know about your church before they visit

Having the church’s beliefs, mission, and values readily accessible is critical because newcomers, whether they are saved or not, will want to know not only what that church believes, but also how that church carries out what they believe. Believers who just arrived in town will especially want to know about your beliefs to determine whether they should even visit your church in the first place.

Knowing what they are getting into

Nowadays, when people look for churches, they turn to the Internet to find out as much as they can about a church before committing to getting up earlier, packaging the children into the family minivan, risking getting lost, and walking into a strange, new environment. People want to be comfortable with what they can find about that church before they even enter the parking lot. Imagine the consternation of a family with multiple young children that arrives at a church only to find no nursery care is available!

Helping Newcomers Find What They’re Looking For

Newcomers that visit your website have questions, they want to know about how your church operates and its culture, whether the beliefs of that church seem right, whether they can trust the leadership’s stance, and for the unsaved, whether a conversation is even addressing them in a way they can understand. Let your church be the one that answers the visitor who says “I need help/compassion/someone to talk to”. Of special note, more than 90% of churches in our study did not have an easily accessible and understandable gospel message tailored to an unsaved person. Talk about missed opportunities!

One Final Tip- Make I’m New Content Easy to Find on Your Church Website

Having I’m New information that is not easy to find defeats the purpose of having an I’m New section. Park Community Church (www.parkcommunitychurch.org) does a great job of telling a new visitor clearly that yes, Park knows that the new person is important to them, and they also make it clear where to click so that the newcomer can get more of the answers they’re looking for.

Get Started!

Throughout this article we’ve talked about some of the things that your church communications and leadership team can start thinking about implementing. Creating an I’m New section that is easy to identify, and communicates clearly does not necessarily have to be expensive, the important thing is to get those conversations going on improving the content that is most accessed on your website, and getting your website prepared to answer those unspoken questions that people want answered. With some of these ideas outlined above, we hope your church website will be able to communicate more of what people need to know- before they leave it!

This article was originally written by Drew Goodmanson – drew@monkdevelopment.com and was published in Christian Computing Magazine. The original article can be found by clicking -http://www.ccmag.com/2009_10/ccmag2009_10dgoodmanson.pdf

I came across this blog article from one of my favorite Indy bloggers, Doug Karr. Doug posted this as a reblog on his blog a few weeks back. What I liked about it was that it responds to those small (and some big) companies and nonprofits who are searching for some “guidelines” for thier employees when it comes to social media. Feel free to tweak it and make it your own internal document. Thanks Doug for the post!

These guidelines apply to (COMPANY) employees or contractors who create or contribute to blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds, or any other kind of Social Media. Whether you log into Twitter, Yelp, Wikipedia, MySpace or Facebook pages, or comment on online media stories — these guidelines are for you.

While all (COMPANY) employees are welcome to participate in Social Media, we expect everyone who participates in online commentary to understand and to follow these simple but important guidelines. These rules might sound strict and contain a bit of legal-sounding jargon but please keep in mind that our overall goal is simple: to participate online in a respectful, relevant way that protects our reputation and of course follows the letter and spirit of the law.

1. Be transparent and state that you work at (COMPANY). Your honesty will be noted in the Social Media environment. If you are writing about (COMPANY) or a competitor, use your real name, identify that you work for (COMPANY), and be clear about your role. If you have a vested interest in what you are discussing, be the first to say so.
2. Never represent yourself or (COMPANY) in a false or misleading way. All statements must be true and not misleading; all claims must be substantiated.
3. Post meaningful, respectful comments — in other words, please, no spam and no remarks that are off-topic or offensive.
4. Use common sense and common courtesy: for example, it’s best to ask permission to publish or report on conversations that are meant to be private or internal to (COMPANY). Make sure your efforts to be transparent don’t violate (COMPANY)’s privacy, confidentiality, and legal guidelines for external commercial speech.
5. Stick to your area of expertise and do feel free to provide unique, individual perspectives on non-confidential activities at (COMPANY).
6. When disagreeing with others’ opinions, keep it appropriate and polite. If you find yourself in a situation online that looks as if it’s becoming antagonistic, do not get overly defensive and do not disengage from the conversation abruptly: feel free to ask the PR Director for advice and/or to disengage from the dialogue in a polite manner that reflects well on (COMPANY).
7. If you want to write about the competition, make sure you behave diplomatically, have the facts straight and that you have the appropriate permissions.
8. Please never comment on anything related to legal matters, litigation, or any parties (COMPANY) may be in litigation with.
9. Never participate in Social Media when the topic being discussed may be considered a crisis situation. Even anonymous comments may be traced back to your or (COMPANY)’s IP address. Refer all Social Media activity around crisis topics to PR and/or Legal Affairs Director.
10. Be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy, and (COMPANY)’s confidential information. What you publish is widely accessible and will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully. Google has a long memory.

NOTE: Mainstream media inquiries must be referred to the Director of Public Relations.

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is the founder of The Marketing Technology Blog. Doug is President and CEO of DK New Media, an online marketing company specializing in social media, blogging and search engine           optimization. Their clients include Webtrends, ChaCha and many more.

Download Doug’s eBook on Blogging for SEO