These days, everyone from celebrities to big-name CEOs sets Twitter ablaze with personal meltdowns. So, what do you do if one of them is your client or disgruntled employee? It’s important to be prepared. Try these tips for handling a social-media crisis:

• Assess the situation and respond accordingly. No two scenarios are alike, so gather the facts (like making sure the person is OK) and decide the best course of action. If your client Tweets a drunken rant, it’s probably best to delete the post and issue an apology. If your fired co-worker wages e-war, it might be best to post a public statement explaining the situation.
• Educate your audience. If a disgruntled employee is falsely defaming your company, post a statement with the facts. But make sure you investigate and find out if there’s more to the story from the employee’s side.
• Don’t engage in a public feud. The worst thing you can do is throw down the gauntlet and battle on Facebook or Twitter. Instead of disputing any claims, you’ll open your brand to a public spanking.
• Time heals. Sometimes, the best remedy is to ride out the storm. Liz Vogel, Ideopia’s director of public relations, said, “Sometimes, just be happy you didn’t make it worse.” She’s right. You can’t always fix it, but you can control if you fuel or extinguish the flames.

As social media continues to grow in popularity, so will e-meltdowns. So be prepared. Looking for more defense? Check out our video on crisis management.

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Most of us use Facebook and we Tweet. Heck, most of us are doing it while at work. So what’s your company’s policy on social media? Here’s how some corporations handle it:

• Dell encourages its employees to use social media, but they better disclose where they work and use spellcheck. If an employee’s account uses Dell branding, the company may own it, including all the contacts. If they don’t follow the PC giant’s policies, they may find themselves job hunting.
• If you work at the Mayo Clinic, feel free to Tweet, just don’t let it distract you from work. Also, don’t “friend” any patients, and make sure you write in the first person, not on behalf of the organization.
• Part of the team at Ford Motor Company? Use common sense. Don’t share privileged information and don’t speculate on future products. You speak for yourself, but your actions reflect on Ford. And also: The Internet remembers, and it’s virtually impossible to take something back, so keep that in mind.

There’s still a lot of grey area when it comes to social media, but each day more and more companies adopt policies to cover themselves and their employees. Have you noticed any social-media FUBARs at your workplace?

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Who owns your Twitter or Facebook followers? Are you sure?

Tweeting on behalf of an employer or trolling for new business through LinkedIn could get your accounts snatched. Two companies are suing former employees over the issue. Both cases are still winding through the halls of justice.

At stake is who really owns a personal Twitter or LinkedIn account, when it’s used to rustle up new business or spew company talking points.

Mobile phone site Phonedog.com says a former employee’s 17,000 Twitter followers are actually a customer list. Training company Edcomm tried to argue that its employee’s LinkedIn account was a trade secret—even though she had the account prior to working there.

“Watch out for sour grapes,” isn’t the only moral of this story. Employers beware: when people move on, their social media accounts may too. Working stiffs need to be cautious as well. When you change jobs, you might not be able to take your Twitter friends with you. Keep an eye on the courts!

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Professional athletes love social media and grub. So when NFL player David Clowney asked for Cincinnati restaurant recommendations on Twitter, we were all ears. On behalf of Morton’s The Steakhouse, we Tweeted our beefy suggestion from their @Mortons_Cinci account.

Not even an hour later, he and his teammates were chowing down on steaks and telling the world all about it.

The story was recently featured in Food & Beverage Magazine to help restauranters boost their brands with social media. In this case, all it took was a keen eye on Twitter and a brief interaction to turn big profits for Morton’s.

Are you tuned in to what your customers are saying and ready to act when they do? Learn more about Ideopia’s social media capabilities on our website.

Check out the full sequence of Tweets below:

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Google+ has evolved from a curiosity to a necessity for business. One of the most pragmatic reasons is that participation in Google+ boosts your company’s search-engine rankings.

An informal study by Rand Fishkin, CEO of SEOmoz, seems to support the conclusion. After distributing links to a blog post on other major social media platforms, Google+ received the most clickthroughs.

Major companies, like Pepsi, Macy’s and Toyota have committed serious resources to Google+, betting it will plus-size their profits. That’s why we suggest getting out in front while the competition is still relatively low.

Launched in July 2011, Google+ was designed to dethrone Facebook. The debate has raged among SEOs, social media experts and marketers about the ultimate relevance of Google+. The conclusion? You have to join us.

Starting a Google+ Account

To open a Google business page, you must first have a personal Google account, which configures quickly with just an email address.

Installing Google+ is a breeze. Just add a scrap of code from Google that your developer can place on your web page. Like our site? Show your love by hitting the Google+ icon at the bottom of the page.

Read more about Google+ on Ideopia’s Wavybrainy blog.

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As much as we love reading Tweets about Kim Kardashian’s martial status, Twitter is also home to remarkable stories that began with just 140 characters. Like Chris Strouth who found a kidney donor after he tweeted “Sh*t, I need a kidney.” Or the Japanese fishermen who sell their fresh catch on Twitter before they reach the shore. And NASA astronaut Mike Massimino who sent the first extraterrestrial Tweet.

For more inspiring examples, check out Twitter Stories. Have your own story? Share it by using the hashtag #twitterstories, and yours could be the next Tweet heard around the world.

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Any term with the word party in it has to be good. And, indeed, Twitter parties are emerging as a tool for brands to engage their customers. Companies throwing Twitter parties include the high-altitude set, like the Harvard Business Review, IBM and Gevalia, and baser needs like Huggies Diapers, Crest toothpaste, barbeque sauce, and even some ad agency grumble fests.

So what exactly is a Twitter Party? It’s an online free-for-all that draws information hungry, brand evangelist types – like your customers. They share interests as diverse as camping, computing, barbeque or interior design. To join the discussion, Tweeters follow the event’s with hashtags, which you have heavily promoted. The leader or host of the party introduces subjects and guides the discussion.

The opportunity for a brand is to field experts, a guest host, or a celebrity. Just like guests at a real party expect their hosts to cough up some clean paper cups and peanuts, your Twitter guests will expect contests and brand swag. No, not iPads! Whip up giveaways that relate to your brand, even if it’s just a cool T-shirt.

A Twitter party is also an event you can weave through all of your other marketing: blog posts, Facebook, Print ads, and a landing page to capture social information and leads on your website.

The potential ROI from these online events is enormous. Companies report from 1,500 to more than 1,000,000 mentions. And remember, these count as interactions with potential customers, not just ad impressions. Compared to most other tactical options, a Twitter party is downright cheap.

Next steps? Follow some Twitter parties on your own to see how they work, and learn more about Ideopia’s ssocial media capabilities.

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Stay on top of your Twitter game by tracking seven easily available numbers. Use them to monitor the progress and value of your account over time. You’ll find all of them within your Twitter account.

1. Following: Number of unique accounts you follow.
2. Followers: The number of unique Tweeters that follow your handle. Consistent growth shows effective content and interaction.
3. Mentions: The number of times your followers have mentioned you on their accounts. Indicates follower interaction and loyalty.
4. Retweets: By retweeting your content, your followers are extending your reach and confirming the interest of your posts.
5. No. of Tweets: Total number of tweets you’ve sent from your account.
6. Tweet to Follower Ratio: Divide number of followers by number of tweets to get the number of tweets per follower. The lower the number, the greater return on your Tweeting investment.
7. Traffic to Website: The big payoff! The number of visits your followers have made to your website or online store. Retrieve from Google Analytics under “Traffic Sources.”

Find obout about twitter training at Ideopia.

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1.    Typing in all caps is rude and annoying. In the tech world, it’s considered shouting. SERIOUSLY, DO NOT EVER TYPE IN ALL CAPS.

2.    Begging for re-tweets is a slimy practice. If your tweet is unique, interesting and relevant, it will spread on its own.

3.    Spelling. Check it. Because you can tweet from anywhere and anytime, the temptation is to tweet as quickly as possible. But consistent typos hurt your Twitter cred.

4.    #Hashtag overload. We love hashtags, but please keep them simple and make sure they support the tweet’s message. If the tag isn’t related to the tweet, it’s spam.

5.    Cheesy slogans. Not that they’re ever effective, but they especially don’t work on Twitter. If you’re tweeting about rugs, tweet about your lifetime warranty or special Persian, stain-resistant matting. Don’t just say they’re high quality.

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What Twitter offers is insight into how your followers might behave. For example, you might tweet a teaser about an event, “Want to see cows play hockey? Let us know.” Let’s assume that your Twitter following fairly accurately mirrors your target audience. So if you have 1000 followers and none of them reply to or re-tweet your post, you may have a dud on your hands.

Another strategy is to pit two ideas against each other to see which one catches. Twitter research allows you to take the temperature of your idea by crowd sourcing your followers. Give it a try!

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