One thing I’ve heard a few times is that Twitter is trying to be like Facebook. If that’s true, I hate to break it to you Twitter, but you’re not Facebook. That’s ok! You don’t want to be Facebook. We already have a Facebook. Twitter is valuable the way it is. Really this conversation boils down to what Twitter and Facebook are.

Facebook is a network for friends. It’s a much more intimate network. In general, people don’t want to be friends with complete strangers. On Facebook people are more willing to share personal updates and expect to converse with those they’re close with. Yes, Facebook has features like pages, questions, and the public posts feature that allows your posts to be seen by the world, but in general people on Facebook want to be more private.

On Twitter people can connect with pretty much anyone. They can connect with industry leaders, celebrities, random bloggers, and anyone else you can think of. You may have a conversation with a complete stranger or even someone you admire that otherwise you would never be able to connect with. It’s a wonderful way to network, get your name/business/project out in the open, to promote yourself and your product and to connect with the world. Twitter provides opportunities that, at the moment, are impossible on Facebook.

In the end, I really don’t think Twitter is trying to be Facebook. I think Twitter is finally trying to get their product up to snuff. Don’t forget how far Facebook has come over the years.

Here are a few statements that can lead to being captured by the conventional thinking trap:

• “I’ve been doing this for years and it works just fine.”
• “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
• “But that’s not how other companies do it.”
• “That potential employee is innovative and intelligent, but they just don’t have the experience/résumé.”
• “It seems a little risky.”

What’s wrong with these statements? If it isn’t broken why would you want to fix it? Experience is a good thing. Other companies do it that way because it works. There are a lot of costs associated with risky endeavors. This is all true, but consistently falling into conventional thought can stifle innovation, growth and improvement. The conventional thinking trap stops you from being the first to do something awesome, it stops you from creating something viral, it stops you from being a leader and slowly steers you into mediocrity.

How do you avoid the conventional trap? Here are a few ideas:

1. Try it – If you have an idea for your website, your Facebook page or Twitter, just try it. One of my favorite quotes by Wayne Gretzky explains this principle: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Stop wondering “what if” and do it.
2. Establish an innovative culture – Make it a practice to come up with fresh ideas. Take half an hour each week to brainstorm on how to improve your marketing. If you manage a bigger organization then get ideas from your employees. You could even create a contest and give a small bonus every week to the person that has the best idea. If you encourage innovation your company will thrive.
3. Be different – This is a simple but powerful principle. If you conform to what everyone else is doing then someone will most likely do it better than you. If you can differentiate yourself from the norm, you become the standard. How can you be the leader if all you do is follow?

These are just a few ideas I had that help me to avoid the conventional trap. What are some of the thing you do?

Is it fear? What if the change doesn’t work? What if people don’t like the change? What if?!

Is it pride? If I change than I’m admitting I was wrong? Does this mean I’m giving up on what I originally believed in? What about my pride?!

Is it laziness? If I change then won’t I have to work harder? Why won’t things just fall into my lap?!

I don’t know what it is about changing that’s so difficult. Every situation is different, and there is always an excuse not to change. It boils down to why you started thinking of changing in the first place…You aren’t getting the results you want.

You aren’t making any sales. You aren’t getting enough followers on Twitter. Your Facebook page is stagnant. Nobody’s visiting your web page. You’re unhappy with your job. You’re sick of the people you work with. It seems like you’re always annoyed with your family. Whatever it is, you’re contemplating change because your expectations aren’t being met.

I have potentially bad news: Your results will never improve unless something changes. Maybe your expectations need to change. If you’re a terrible basketball player, then you should stop expecting to get into the NBA. In most cases though, I don’t think your expectations need to change. There is always something you can change to improve your results. You just have to have to be willing to do it.

So what is the extra degree needed to take your Facebook page to the next level? What is the extra degree needed to make your YouTube video the next viral sensation? What is the extra degree that will turn your social media efforts into a strong source of revenue?

Take a little extra time to think through your social media strategy. You may already be doing a lot. Just remember, you could be one degree away from real success.

My 12-year-old sister participated in this year’s National History Day contest. Her project won first place in her region! Unfortunately, she was sick the weekend of the state competition and wasn’t able to go. Otherwise she probably would have won at the state level (there’s no bias in that statement at all). The topic of her project is “Getting Information to the People: From Gutenberg to Twitter”, a topic that is extremely relevant and very interesting. The best part is that there is an interview at the end with a very attractive young man (that would be me for any who are confused). So without further ado, here is her final project. Enjoy:

His name was John and he sat in front of me on the bus. He wasn’t a very big guy, but he had a very bad attitude. At some point during the year he decided to start picking on me. He would turn around and say mean things to me and make fun of me. At first I just ignored him. After all, why should I dignify his stupidity with a response? Ignoring John just made things worse as he graduated from verbal to physical annoyance. One day he decided he needed to lightly slap the side of my head a few times to get a reaction out of me. His weak slaps only hurt my pride. Unfortunately his ploy worked. As I got off the bus I walked past his seat and slapped him in the back of the head. I was safe at the time because if he chased me off the bus the driver would have stopped him. As the bus pulled away I looked up at his window and saw him staring at me full of rage.

The next day on the way to school John told me he wanted to meet at a certain location during recess. The rest of the day leading up to recess I was pretty nervous. I told my predicament to a few of my friends and my larger friend told me not to worry. I was still worried, but had a little more confidence.

The designated hour came and I met with my foe at the chosen location, my friends in tow. He didn’t have any friends with him, but that didn’t stop him. He mouthed off to me. My buddy whispered in my ear to go and push him. I was hesitant but I stepped up and pushed him pretty hard. John rushed at me, but my friend stepped in front of me just before John got to me. John looked at my formidable friend and took a step back. My friend then said “I don’t want you messing with Chad anymore.” John’s confidence was shot; I could see fear in his eyes. He backed away and I never had problems with him again.

I learned a great lesson that day about networking. When I had a problem with John I had a network of friends willing to help me. I may have been able to handle John on my own, but there was no need. My network was there to help. I learned that a strong network can save you in a pinch.

Business is no different. Your business is going to run into bullies. There will be competitors, customers or just random people that will attack you. Sometimes they will attack you for no apparent reason. Maybe they’re just jealous of your success. So what do you do with a business bully? How do you handle them? Ignoring a bully only works some of the time. Sometimes it makes things worse. What you need to do is proactively build your networks before the bullies show up.

Your business needs to be on Twitter, Facebook or wherever else you can build the strongest network. As you develop strong relationships with your customers, followers or fans, they will step up to the bully and tell them to take a hike. They will defend and build up your business because they are loyal to you.

Stepping into the social media world can be scary. You may have to face some bullies. Don’t let that fear stop you. You will make friends, and your friends are much more powerful than the weak bullies of the world.

What do you think? Have you ever faced a business bully? What happened? I’d love to hear.

What is your target audience? Cater your posts to your niche.

Why do you use Twitter, Facebook or a blog? Are you trying to reach a specific niche, like business people, moms, teenagers or social media experts? Who do you want reading what you post? These are questions I recommend you ask yourself often to keep the correct perspective before posting different social messages.

Sometimes, as a social media professional, I find myself tweeting less of the things I find interesting (articles, videos, etc) because they’ve already been shared online by millions of people. For example, just look at the Mashable home page and you’ll see that hundreds and sometimes thousands of people tweet Mashable’s content regularly. I find myself less motivated to tweet this popular content because it seems like everyone has seen it already. But this is false! Just because I’ve read or seen a piece of content doesn’t mean the people who follow me have encountered it too.

In reality, it doesn’t matter if you post a piece of content someone may have already seen. The point is to post content that is interesting to you, and what you believe your audience will appreciate. I don’t care if some social media person sees my profile and thinks, “I’ve already read that.” Why? Because they’re not my target audience. My target audience includes the people who don’t read all of the social media blogs. They don’t have time to read the hundreds of interesting posts out there, so they come to me to read the ones I feel are the best. Why do they care? Because I consistently post things they like.

The moral of the story: no matter what industry you’re in, don’t forget that your target audience comes to you for updates. They’re not visiting all of the sites you’re visiting. They rely on you to sift through what’s good and what’s not.

You thought Facebook and Twitter were social media? Sorry, you’re wrong.

Social media, or as Olivier Blanchard put it, social communications (a label I like), is not a Facebook page, a Twitter account, or a blog. It’s not getting the most fans or followers. It’s not pushing a message out into the newest social network. It’s not putting little social networking logos on your web page. It’s not even posting regular content to your different accounts.

So what is social media/social communications? Here are a few ideas:

It’s being in the right spot

In order to reach your target markets you have to be where they are.  Are they on Twitter? Are your markets on Facebook? Do your target markets read the newspaper? Do they respond to billboards? Do they watch television? Do they go to trade shows or congregate at certain events? Are you where your markets are? All forms of media today can be social. If you’re not communicating with your markets where your markets are located, you aren’t being social.

It’s integration

Once you know where you markets are, you need to integrate. If you aren’t convinced that Facebook is going to be around for very long then you need to click here. When it boils down to it, Facebook has over 450 million active user. There is a good chance your markets are on Facebook. Does that mean you stop pursuing traditional marketing efforts? No! It means you start using your traditional marketing efforts more effectively. Come up with ideas to use traditional methods that will point people to your different social networks. Tell people to communicate with your company on Facebook, on Twitter or on your corporate blog. As you invite them to some sort of an action, you will see more people coming to your pages to interact with you.

It’s listening

Now that your social networks are budding with activity, what are people saying? Are you listening on Twitter? Are people commenting on your blog? Are people saying things that make you uncomfortable? Are they unhappy with your product or are they raving about how amazing you are? Are you listening?

It’s changing

If you’re truly listening to people, then you’ll need to make changes. If people are saying bad things, then you obviously need to change. If they’re saying good things, then surprise people with something even better. If people aren’t saying anything, then you need to do something to get people talking. Here are a couple of great posts by Olivier you really need to read about how a company can listen and change using social media in a crisis: Greenpeace vs. Nestle part 1 and part 2.

It’s communicating

To truly use social media, you have to communicate with people. True communication is a two way dialogue. You can’t just push a message out and hope you see results. You have to find out what people want, what they’re saying and respond appropriately. We live in an age where people all over the world can be a part of a community. Regardless of the role you want to have in that community, if you’re going to be a part of it you’re going to have to communicate effectively.

If you don’t know how to communicate, how to listen, how to change, how to integrate new and traditional media, or if you don’t know where your markets are, then don’t waste time on social networks. Why? Because you’re probably going out of business.

Cozy up to social media more often.

Using social media all of the time can get a little tedious. When you’re using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blog, or other forms of social media, it’s easy to get bogged down. You get wrapped up in making sure you post to your blog, that you tweet or that you check your Facebook News Feed. These online activities are all important (particularly for your business), but you need to make sure you’re having fun with it!

Take a few minutes today to rekindle your love for one of your social networks. Get on your blog and write about something different and exciting. Go on YouTube and watch some videos that make you laugh (click here and here to see a few of my favorites). Get on Twitter and try to connect with someone in your industry. Don’t just follow them, connect with them. Log onto Facebook and really get in touch with an old friend. Actually message them and start a genuine conversation. If you’re only seeing their updates from time to time, then you haven’t really re-connected with them.

Have fun, do something meaningful, renew your love!

What do you do to keep your social love affair going?

It's finally time to clean up your social networks.

Over the last few years, two remarkably surprising and unpredictable phenomena have radically changed the way most Americans spend their time and lives. One is the rise of social media. The other is the Great Recession.

First, social media is quickly altering the way humans communicate and interact with one another. Don’t believe me? 95% of employers polled in a recent business survey say they use LinkedIn to attract job candidates. The United States government just eased sanctions on Iran and Cuba to encourage social media use among their citizens. CNN now sees Facebook as a bigger competitor than FOX News. And on and on it goes.

In the mean time, the economic recession has paralyzed millions of businesses, families and nations. It’s harder now for a recent college graduate to find a good job than it’s been in decades.

So what do these two changes have in common? It’s simple: College graduates must use social media to foster personal branding in order to beat the recession. But how?

I was going to spill out a half-dozen suggestions in this blog post today, but my wise business colleague suggested I create a series of posts that address this important issue, step by step. I gladly took his advice, and I’ll focus this morning on the importance of keeping your social networks clean and appropriate.

Clean up your social networks: A study last year revealed that 45% of employers use social networks like Facebook and MySpace to screen potential job candidates. That number is bound to increase as social media becomes even more widely used. What does that mean for you?

• Learn about privacy features on Facebook. I cannot tell you how many people I come across that have no idea that all their Facebook information, including phone numbers, private notes and embarrassing pictures, are public online. Educate yourself and make invisible sensitive information on Facebook.
• If you’re smart, you’ll simply erase any negative or compromising material on Facebook, especially photos. If your friends occasionally post inappropriate comments or pictures on your Facebook wall, see the link in the point above.
• If you have a blog, that is very good. But, like Facebook, make sure your blog is appropriate for all to see, including potential or current employers.
• Make sure spammers aren’t following you on Twitter. Block them. Oftentimes, spammers will use pornographic images in their profile pictures which are visible to someone looking at your Twitter followers.
• Abandon MySpace. It’s filthy and chaotic and ridden with 13-year-olds. It will do little, if anything, to further your career. Say goodbye and walk away.

In short, remember to make your social networks clean and don’t ever post anything online that could come back to embarrass or hurt you.

Over the next couple years, social media will become even more mainstream and will evolve and grow in ways we can’t yet predict. The recession will (hopefully) wither away into oblivion, like the Wicked Witch of the West slowly melting in a pool of oozy water. Those transformations are good, but it highlights the point that the time to use social media to establish your personal brand is now. The world, as it recovers from the economic downturn, will not wait for you to catch up.