Well, I’m sure all y’all would agree that we’ve seen some great cases out there for some good ol’ social media listenin’ and engagin’.   And, by golly, we’re bound to see lots more.   We thought it might be fun to inject a bit of playful humor into the subject with a few tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek videos.  We released our first one this morning.

The story follows the adventure of a young songwriter as he tries to make a name for himself on the Youtubes and the Interwebs. The show is called ‘Classic Virals’ and the song is called ‘Convenience Store Chain’.

And, yes indeedy folks, that’s my alter ego, Johnny C. doin’ the interviewin’.  Heck, ya gotta have some fun at whatever you’re doin’ or well, life will just done pass ya by.  Hope you enjoy the video as much as we did making it.

And hey, afterward, please let us know what you think of this video approach.

• Would you use it with your C-Suite as a “let’s not take ourselves to seriously” part of making your case for building out your company’s listening and engagement capabilities?
• If you are an agency, would you show your clients this video as a light-hearted way to break the ice and make the point of why they need to be listening and, indeed, what benefits they could derive from it?

We’ve posted a few times here about what kinds of conversations to listen for in social media. (Just in case you missed them, you can find them here, here, and here).

But the question that inevitably comes next: What do I say?

So here, my list for you for a few response types you might consider when engaging the conversations you’d like to be part of. They don’t have to be about your brand necessarily – they can be about your industry or relevant trends or just stories of interest. But engaging is a big part of the social media equation, so maybe these will help you with your responses.

Thank you.

You really can’t use this one enough. Thanks for thinking of us! Thanks for mentioning us or recommending us. Thanks for that great bit of information you shared. Thanks for pointing out the typo on our website. Thank you for sharing your viewpoint (even if I disagree). Graciousness matters, and the simple art of thanking someone can indicate very subtly that you’ve been listening.

I’m sorry.

Screw ups happen, and saying you’re sorry isn’t about taking blame. It’s about genuinely apologizing for someone’s frustration, inconvenience, or loss. We’re sorry your stuff didn’t arrive on time. We’re sorry our site was down when you needed it. We’re sorry we dropped the ball and didn’t respond to your email.

Sometimes it’s taking responsibility for something, other times it’s enough to acknowledge that something didn’t work the way it was supposed to. In any case, a simple apology can go a long way toward making a frustrated person more open to hearing what else you might have to say.

Here’s how I can help.

Information is currency. When someone is expressing a need you can fill, taking action works wonders. Looking for the price for that? Here you go. Soliciting ideas for a book on a topic? I’ve got some recommendations. Having trouble with your blog? Let me point you to an expert I know.

Being helpful and sharing your knowledge and information is priceless on the web. The answer doesn’t always have to be your thing/product/service. It’s about being a good citizen of the communities in which you participate, and offering up information you have that can be useful to others, without the expectation of anything in return.

How can I help?

A question instead of a statement, this is one of the most fruitful responses you can offer (just ask Frank Eliason from Comcast). It acknowledges your interest in helping, your availability to assist, and asks the other person to help you by understanding more about their needs. After all, half of talking is about the desire to be heard. And sometimes it can help you get to the bottom of an issue quickly and simply without kicking up a lot of dust.

Yes (or No) and here’s why I think so.

Please don’t be afraid to have an opinion on the web. Opinions aren’t permanent. You can change your mind. But much of the value in participating in online discussions, from Twitter to blogs, is about the ongoing dialogue. If we all band together and deliver one word answers, or follow the flocks in order to not stir the water, we’re going to have one dull internet on our hands.

Even if you represent a company, you can have a viewpoint that you share. Share it with respect and courtesy, but it’s okay to share your thoughts on a topic. Yes, that means you’re open to the feedback and opinions (even dissenting) of others. But humans want, well, humanity in our conversations. Talk to us like people, and let us talk back to you in the same way. We like you when you have ideas and thoughts to share.

What would you add? Those of you out there conversing and chatting, either individually or on behalf of your companies, what shape do your conversations take? What are you learning? Please share with us.

image credit: pinkmoose

I am *beyond* excited to announce a new addition to the Radian6 community team that’s sure to make an almost instant impact on our business.

As of Monday, Lauren Vargas will be joining our team as Community Manager, and she brings with her a whole boatload of experience. Most recently, she was the community relations manager for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES).

She’s been managing communities of military folk and their spouses, she’s been blogging on all things PR and community related over at Communicators Anonymous since 2006,  and she’s a university professor. How’s that for a pile of stuff to build on?

Lauren’s perspective on new communications and social media is fresh, firm, and practical. I’m a particular kindred spirit in her no-nonsense, “how does this derive value for us” approach, and she’s a stickler for things like measurement and metrics. Her enthusiasm is unbridled, but there’s a driven side of her that leaves me with little doubt that she’s all about execution.  It’s like the whole social media package wrapped up in someone with a contagious laugh and a sense of humor to boot. Not too bad.

So, in the spirit of hiring people smarter than  you, I cannot WAIT to bring Lauren into the fold.

Lauren will be helping us with everything from community outreach to content creation, plus she’ll be flexing her expertise in burgeoning and critical areas like Social CRM and web analytics – two key areas in which Radian6 is immersed and committed for the future.

You can expect to keep communicating and hearing from Lauren on Twitter at @vargasl and on her blog, and you can bet you’ll be hearing from her in the Radian6 world, too. We know she’s got lots to share.

So please join me in welcoming Lauren to our community team! We’re so excited to have her. You can bet you’ll be hearing more from her, and us.

GE is a company that’s relentlessly focused on innovation, and their approach to social media is no different. The communication team at GE has launched their very own TweetSquad, a group of 10 individuals that engage with their community on Twitter and use the platform to collaborate with coworkers, but most importantly help GE’s boomers and Gen-Xers become fluent social networkers. It’s a sort of reverse mentoring system that’s a fantastic example of how companies can spend time and effort building their internal awareness and understanding of the power and potential of social media across the enterprise.

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, August 5th at 1PM EST as we talk with GE’s marketing & communications team about the Tweetsquad, what it’s meant for GE and their adoption and immersion in to the world of social networking, how they’re measuring success, and what they’ve learned to guide their future efforts.

The Twebinar format, if you haven’t been before, is a mashup between a live podcast/audio broadcast and Twitter as the backchannel for discussion. We’ll be using the hashtag #radian6 and picking up your questions along the way. We’ve built the Twebinar interface so you can see all the tweets and discussion at a glance, listen to the broadcast, and submit your questions as we chat.

A few Twebinar tips for the uninitiated:

• When you log in, if you don’t hear the audio right away, refresh your browser.
• To ask a question, simply type it in to Twitter using the #radian6 hashtag and end it with a “?”. We’ll see it.
• Your host for this episode will be @ambercadabra, so you can send questions to her in advance on Twitter if you like.
• If you’d prefer to listen to the audio without the Twebinar interface, you can do so at our BlogTalkRadio channel.
• We’ll post the full broadcast after the event on our blog, and you can always listen to the archive on BTR.
• Any other questions, leave them here in the comments or ask us on Twitter and we’ll do our best.

Head to the Twebinars site to log in and join the discussion. It’s going to be a great chat – don’t miss it!

Update: Listen to the archived broadcast here if you missed it!