Tag: Best Practices
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11 Lessons about Digital Communities from Rome – A Photo Essay
It may be an ancient, bricks and mortar city, but the buildings, infrastructure and inhabitants of Rome offer many design insights into cyberspace, particularly when it comes to building, maintaining, and participating in digital communities. This post shares 11 lessons, organized into three feng shui-inspired themes: balancing the old and the new, letting rules serve…
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Social and Digital Engagement: You Can’t Outsource Leadership
Effective social and digital engagement requires informed and active involvement from the top of the organization. Although it may be appropriate to outsource and delegate some responsibility and many activities, it’s not in an organization’s best interests to outsource leadership. To achieve the best results, leaders must educate themselves, develop a strategic, integrated approach to…
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What Factors are Relevant to Becoming a Social Enterprise?
Many leaders are still trying to figure out whether, when and how they should begin to transform their organization into a “social enterprise.” This post addresses the organizational and workforce characteristics that should be considered in making that decision and taking the necessary actions by addressing three sets of factors: those that matter less than…
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Social Media Reality Check: Four Mental Shifts Leaders Need to Make
This Social Media Reality Check addresses four key mental shifts organizational leaders must make to accept new Digital Era realities and move forward. These shifts include recognizing changes in the balance of power, accepting loss of control, developing new perspectives on productivity, and viewing social technology integration as mandatory rather than optional.
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Social Media in 10 Minutes a Day? 7 Reasons not to be Fooled
Although it’s generally well intentioned, most of the advice for engaging via social media in 10 minutes a day (or similar short timeframes) is misguided, misleading, and misrepresentative – especially for social media rookies. This post offers seven reasons why, and suggests more realistic and practical approaches for individuals and organizations to find ways to…
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Five Social Media Engagement Principles (or Mantras)
This post offers five social media engagement principles to guide the efforts of both individuals and organizations. It is primarily targeted to rookies who are just getting started with social media, as well as those who want to regroup and redirect their efforts. The guiding principles include proceeding with “mindful flexibility,” listening first then talking,…
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The SAPLING Approach to Leveraging Social Media
The SAPLING Approach provides a general guide for individuals, groups, and organizations to establish and manage a strong digital presence. SAPLING is an imperfect acronym, but a useful mnemonic for remembering the necessary steps to developing and executing a social media strategy.
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Twitter Changes in 2014: 5 Strategic Cautions
Recent and forthcoming Twitter changes may serve the company’s short-term interests, but they may not lay the best foundation for long-term success. This post offers five strategic cautions that remind Twitter to think of itself as a utility rather than a novelty, capitalize on its unique strengths, minimize existing prejudices and points of resistance, and…
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Social Media Management: From Novelty to Utility
Social media is still a novelty to many professionals, especially those in leadership positions. Rather than viewing social and digital technologies as a radical departure from traditional communication approaches, however, it’s better to think of them as “new tools for doing old things” and to remember they are facilitators and enablers, not an end unto…
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Phone Etiquette in the Digital Era: Think before You Dial
In the Digital Era, new definitions of acceptable and unacceptable behavior have to address not only new ways of communicating, but traditional forms as well. This post offers three reasons why unsolicited, unscheduled phone calls are a generally a poor practice and reinforces the idea that we must constantly think about the best ways to…
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Logo Design in the Digital Era: 6 Critical Factors
Logo design in the Digital Era requires attention to a unique set of factors to ensure the logo renders well in a range of applications. These considerations include simple design, strong colors, scalability, complementary fonts, monochromatic renderings, deconstruction and reconfiguration. Additional suggestions are welcome. (December 16, 2013)
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Private Social Networks: Every Organization Needs Them
This article highlights the risks associated with public social media platforms and describes how private social networks (aka private digital networks) can reduce those risks while also enhancing communication and collaboration among organizational stakeholders. It counters the main points of resistance offered by organizational leaders and articulates the importance of being prepared to establish a…
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Reducing the Role of Email in Organizations: Change is Overdue
Although social technology advocates have been calling for the death of email for several years, it’s still the dominant digital channel by which people in organizations communicate and collaborate. The role of email in our work lives should be reduced, however, both because of its own inefficiencies and the increased availability of better tools. Effective…
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Digital Engagement: 12 DOs and DON’Ts for Rookies (& Others)
Effective digital engagement is a never-ending challenge, and it’s especially difficult for social media rookies. This post describes 12 practices – 7 DOs, 5 DON’Ts – that individuals and organizations trying to optimize their own approach to digital engagement should and should not employ. Additional suggestions and questions are welcome.
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Twitter Hashtags: 7 Tips and a Decision-Making Flowchart
Though Twitter hashtags have been around almost as long as Twitter itself, many people still do not understand what they are – or more importantly, how to use them appropriately. This post offers seven tips – plus a decision-making flowchart – to enable Tweeters to not only avoid looking like a Twitter rube, but to…
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Digital Era Ideas: 21+ Images
More than twenty Denovati Group images convey a variety of Digital Era ideas in simple and memorable terms. These images are available for use by others, with proper attribution. We will continue to add images as they are developed.
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Twitter for Business: 21+ Tips
Many people still don’t “get” Twitter – especially from a professional perspective – or are uncertain whether there is any value in using it. Many others have set up an account but feel overwhelmed and/or unsure about how to maximize the potential benefits. Still others think they’re using it properly but really don’t know if…
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Taming the Emailstrom III: 15 Tips for Sending Emails
Part III of a three-part series offers 15 tips for sending emails that focus on email creation and delivery. Part I provides 11 basic suggestions to control email, including setting a strong foundation, managing the flow of messages, and clearing your inbox. Part II provides another 11 tips for managing email throughout the day so…
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Taming the Emailstrom II: 11 Ways to Better Manage Incoming Emails
Part II of a three-part series offers 11 tips to better manage incoming emails throughout the day – both at your desk and when you’re on the go – so you don’t feel like all you’re doing is triaging messages from others. Part I provided 11 basic suggestions to control email, including setting a strong…
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Taming the Emailstrom I: 11 Ways to Control Email
Part I of a three-part series offers 11 basic suggestions to help you control email. Tips are provided for setting a strong foundation, managing the flow of messages, and clearing your inbox. Part II outlines ways to manage email throughout the day, and Part III offers tips for better email creation and delivery. Additional recommendations…