Jelli: An Example in Social Media

by Sean Cairns

There has been a lot of talk lately about how companies need to utilize "Social Media", and the importance of "being visible" online, but what does that mean exactly? An easy answer would be to make a page for your company on Facebook and hope for the best. Unfortunately, that usually doesn't do a lot for a company. In reality, utilizing Social Media correctly is more like a large advertising campaign: you need to be everywhere, and you need to be active.

How exactly does your company go about achieving this? To answer that question, we're going to take a look at a company that isn't just using Social Media, they're mastering it!

Democratic Radio

Jelli LogoFounded in 2009, Jelli (the company in question) is a company that provides "100% user-controlled radio" to subscribing radio stations. Users log into the Jelli website, and then vote on which song they would like to listen to next on the site's stream. Users can "rocket" favorite songs to the top of the community play-list, or "bomb" them to the bottom – all while chatting with the other users and modifying their own "Favorites" list. In this way, Jelli provides the music that the most people listening to that particular channel want to hear, right now.

While Jelli's own product is itself a form of Social Media, it is the more mainstream Social Media methods which we will be discussing. Of the many Social Media outlets utilized by Jelli, there are three which I feel are not only of the most use to every company with an online presence, but are also used in such a way as they make for fantastic examples of how to use Social Media correctly: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Facebook: Epitome of Social Media

Chances are quite good that you've already been on Facebook, and chances are even better that you're at least aware of what it is, so I'll skip most of the summary. Needless to say, just about everyone and their mother has an account on Facebook, and today a massive number of companies are joining in on the trend.

What sets Jelli apart from most companies' presence on Facebook is their frequency of updates, and conversational tone. Looking through Jelli's wall, you can see that at least once a week, new content is posted, even if it is simply a "come and check out Jelli" status update. Simply putting something new shows users that you're still around, and makes sure that your company's Facebook page is appearing in their News Feed at least once a week and reminding them to do more business with you. This brings us to the first major point I'd like to make:

Just because you don't have a big announcement to make, doesn't mean you can't update your status and posts. Remind folks you're around!

After updating your status on Facebook, take a moment to look around at the comments on your wall and respond to them! If someone has posted a compliment, thank them for it, and remind them to come back next time they have need of your services. If there's a complaint, address it (politely) on your wall and show other viewers that you're helpful and are ready to address any issues. Take a look at some of your fans' pages. Did someone have a baby? Why not congratulate them with 5% off on an order? It's a fantastic way to show you're interested in your fans, and drum up some new business. Whatever you do:

Write like a human being. You can be professional and polite without dropping buzzwords and reading like a scripted response.

I'm not suggesting that you hire someone onto your staff to just man the Facebook page all day and respond to everything, but do have someone log on once or twice a week to update your status and respond to comments and messages.

Twitter: Microblogging – Even On The Go

Twitter is, for those of you who don't know, a website which allows users to post short (160 characters or less) messages to their Twitter page, creating what is known as a Microblog (due to the short post sizes). Companies use Twitter quite a bit less than Facebook for a few reasons, but it has one special something over Facebook: the number of text-message users.

Sure, a lot of people access Facebook from their cell phones, but a greater number of people get their friend's Twitter posts sent as text messages directly to their phones. This means that your followers will know what's new and exciting at your company. Instantly. How's that for direct, timely marketing?

Now here's the downside: Twitter requires a lot more hands-on attention than Facebook. The good news is that Jelli has once again provided us with some great examples of how to make your Twitter look very active!

Jelli's first secret is to re-post what it posts to the other Social Media websites. When it posts a new YouTube video, Jelli also posts a link on Twitter. When Jelli make a new blog post, a link appears on Twitter. When Jelli adds new photos onto Facebook, the Twitter friends know about it. That means:

An update on one Social Media website can be turned into an update on all of them.

In addition to keeping your Twitter friends updated on your latest news, Twitter can also be used to tell customers about the daily life at your company. A quick post of "Had a great meeting with the folks at ABC Company, Inc. Get ready for some great new products!" shows that you're not only up to something great, but helps pique people's interest in what exactly you have going on. Remember that the purpose of using Social Media like this is to keep your company in the minds of your clients as much as you can.

You can also use Twitter to have special Twitter-Only contests and promotions, and lets you respond to tweets written at and about your company. It's also a great idea to send messages or write a Tweet to new followers on Twitter. For example, within 24 hours of having followed Jelli's Twitter account, I had received a direct message thanking me for following them and asking me if I was a fan of them on Facebook yet!

Don't just cross promote your content between Social Media sites, cross promote the fact that you're on them (and suggest that people become your friend/fan/follower there, too)!

As stated before, Twitter requires a more hands-on approach over Facebook. Jelli has a new Twitter post approximately every 16-20 hours, responding to Tweets, inviting users to log into their website, and promoting their own Social Media on other sites. If you're using other Social Media correctly, it shouldn't be hard to have a new Twitter post once a day at least, then fill in the rest with other interesting tidbits you think clients might enjoy. As a minimum, even if you're not on Twitter every day, do make a point to thank new followers, respond to any tweets that come your way, and be sure to post your other Social Media content.

YouTube: Let Clients Know What You Look Like

I'll state it up front: having a YouTube channel simply isn't for every company. Generally, the companies that have a channel on YouTube have their videos fall into one of two categories: informative or humorous.

Informative videos are a great way for companies to show off. Lawyers can use it to explain complicated legal terms and processes to the general public, physicians can discuss clinical trials they're heading up and what the new medicine could be used to treat, and manufacturers can give folks a walk-through of their new factory.

Informative videos most likely won't be posted on a regular basis, but instead used as a tool to advertise and announce big events or new products. If you decide to post informative videos, don't feel pressed to keep posting on a weekly or monthly basis, instead just post when you have something worth posting about.

Viewers will know when you made a video against a deadline instead of posting because the content is important. Humorous videos are exactly that – funny. Companies with a more casual public image like to use YouTube to show to clients that while they mean business, it doesn't mean they can't have fun doing it! Woot.com has a long history of posting silly puppet videos to their YouTube channel, announcing changes with Woot, or new pages on the website. This brings up an important point to make about Humorous videos:

Your funny videos should still have a point to them.

It would be great to give a camera to two of your employees and have them start up a new comedy troupe, but that doesn't help your business. For example, Jelli has a corporate "spokesman" in the form of T-Bone the robot, who makes occasional YouTube posts making major announcements, but in a humorous robot way. In this way, information is still being conveyed to viewers, but in an entertaining way.

Jelli also has posted just about every news video that mentions the company, and this is definitely something you can incorporate into your Social Media strategy. Having news clips about you (provided they're saying positive things about you) is basically free advertising, and shows clients that you mean business when the media is talking about you and your products. Not to mention it keeps your YouTube channel fresh and updated, and gives you things to post about in your other Social Media accounts!

Above and Beyond

As you saw, this article was less a list of "do-s and don't-s" for Social Media, and more a conglomerate of ideas as to how to approach Social Media the right way for your company. Some of these methods will work great for you, some are simply impractical. The best thing to do is to experiment and see what brings you the most business, and gets your company out there and in the minds of people around the world.

By no means should your company stop at just Facebook, Twitter and (possibly) YouTube, either! There are numerous Social Media sites and tools that can be mastered using the ideas discussed above. Here's a few:

If you find that Social Media is something that your company would like to know more about, feel free to contact Central States Media at info@centralstatesmedia.com or on the phone at (309) 693-2345.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Central States Media / MGMT. Central States Media / MGMT is not associated with Jelli, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Woot, or any of the other Social Media sites and companies mentioned in this article.