The Danger Zone: Work Texting. Don't Be a Victim!

Perhaps there is no bigger blessing and curse in our life than the rise of texting. On the upside, it has spared us awkward phone calls, given us the ability to multitask during a boring meeting, and minimized our need to send lengthy emails. How has this affected our communication at work?

I first faced this issue a few years ago, when I began working with a young CEO who would often miss calls -- but text back. A boss texting? Could it be? What a cool guy! I was surprised to see that a convenience that seemed to have developed for social speed was being used for work purposes. And then I started getting texts at 6am. And 10pm. And 11pm. And... you get the idea.

Texting at work...convenient? Sometimes.  Dangerous? Absolutely.  Texting at work brings with it all the inconveniences and quirks it brings to our personal lives- and then magnifies them.  I know better than to assume you'll stop texting altogether, so here is:

                           Damage Control For The Top 5 Dangers of Work-Texting

1) GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Problem:
How you reacted, i.e. when you texted your boss or client back just set the parameters for that leash around your neck.  What's one 9pm text?, you ask.  I'll tell you: it's a sign to the other person. Once you do something, it resets the bar for what that person will expect from you- so, in this case, the next time that person texts you at 9pm, they will wonder why they didn't get a response.  Perhaps your being available to clients constantly is part of your allure, you say! Well don't make it part of your allure. Yes, be available consistently to them, absolutely. But consistently and constantly aren't the same thing. Maybe it doesn't seem like a problem now, maybe he/she doesn't overuse the privilege- but one day they might, and you are likely to snap or ignore it, to equal consequences.

Solution:
Now, I have no problem with creating expectations. In fact, if you're building a strong personal or business brand, you should be creating expectations: expectations that you'll deliver top-notch work.  The problem arises when you create an expectation that you, much like 7-11, are accessible 24 hours a day. And maybe you are, but if so, we should probably talk about how it's affecting (read: ruining) your personal life.

If you are not an ObGyn or a firefighter, I really can't think of a reason you shouldn't have the privacy of a few hours of the day to yourself.

It is absolutely fair to tell people that it's important to you to be 100% focused on your work when you're doing or discussing it, so you are available from 8am to 7pm, and not later (for example).  While it won't necessarily be an easy thing for you to bring up, you must be preemptive on this!  I have colleagues who, similarly, only respond to email during certain time slots during the day. Other people only answer their phone at certain times. We need to create similar texting habits off the bat. 

So, to recap: it's fine to use text for your convenience, but you need to set clear limits on when you will be responding.  Once your boss-colleague (or hey, girlfriend) gets used to you answering within 10 minutes of any given text, the one time you take a couple of hours to do so... looks really bad.  Ignore this suggestion and someday you, too, will wake up to 5am texts and receive 11pm closing thoughts from colleagues.  Just don't go there. I've been there, and it ain't pretty.

Caveat: The Company Phone
This gets tricky because your phone may be provided to you by work (can I get an "Amen" from the lawyers in the house?)  Setting limits is still appropriate in this case, and the earlier the better.  Decide your limits before you ever accept the phone, and articulate your boundaries clearly and politely. If you are responsive during the hours you have said you are available for work-related items, you'll be in the clear.

But remember: you can't have it both ways!  If you are going to limit when you respond to texts from work then you'll need to be equally careful not to use corporate phones for your personal needs.  If you draw the lines, draw them straight across.


2) ILL COMMUNICATION

Problem:
We all break up the day with light, fun, social texts with friends or family.  Hey, maybe you live on the edge and sext - that's your business. But send it to the wrong person and it suddenly becomes their business.  If you're 99% of people, at some point you have sent a casual or informal or off-color text to make a friend laugh or to comment on something that required context. Maybe you snapped a funny picture of something in front of you on the street. The point is, send it to the boss or a client and Houston, we have a problem! Actually, you have a problem.

Solution:
Even if it takes a few extra seconds, check each and every time that you are sending your text to the right person. Otherwise "Ugh, my client is such a pain in the..." could be pinged to the wrong person.  Don't become a cautionary tale. I don't want you to appear in a thinly-veiled anecdote in this blog any more than you want to be here.  It will take a lot less time to double-check who you're texting to (the same way we do with email!) than it will for you to grovel and undo the damage you caused by an overenthusiastic pressing of "send".


3) ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A THIRD GRADER?


Problem:
Many people have taken to casual language in texting. LOL is the bane of my existence, for example. These days many people who are not Prince use "U" instead of "you" - I guess the extra two letters are just too strenuous for them to type.  Unless your clientele is 11 year olds (granted, it could be), this is unprofessional.  Every time you send a text you are displaying your communication skills, and the message you're sending with adolescent abbreviations is that you incapable of writing in the full sentences the rest of America uses.  The result is that you will chip away at your professionalism. Maybe when you have a full keyboard you write briefs worthy of the greatest courts in the land, but when you send texts saying "C U AT LUNCH" you look less than eloquent.

Solution:
Keep up your standards. The fact is, while texts are more casual, your clients-colleagues-boss-targets are still observing how you carry yourself and how you communicate from every angle.  You don't need to use SAT vocabulary in your texts, but basic professionalism will always make you look good, so why skimp?  I encourage you to distinguish your texting "voice" from that of, say, your 9 year old.   Don't assume your receiver knows the abbreviations.

And hear me now: there is no situation in which you should be "ROFL" or "LMFAO" in a work text. None. Unless you just quit and sent it to your boss. Then, maybe.


4) SECOND (THINK) THAT EMOTI(C)ON

Solution:
I'm going straight to the solution on this one: Emoticons are a no-no.  If you feel they are absolutely necessary (I, for one, will be dependent upon them until someone develops a "sarcasm" font), then use them sparingly. Same with excessive punctuation (!!!!!!!). And foul language. A quick test you can run: If you weren't going to be there to explain your text to a third party, would you be OK if the recipient forwarded it? If not, revise!


5) WHO CAN IT BE NOW?

As my parting gift to you, I'm going to give you a tip so basic that I guarantee you half the people reading this post have made this mistake.  (Heck, I have.)  When you text someone on a work-related item, particularly if you are the one initiating a text and you are not in the daily habit of texting with this person, do them courtesy of stating who you are.  Not doing so is the equivalent of someone leaving you a voicemail but no name.  Don't do that.  It is better to be redundant than to leave them wondering and inspired to delete your message.  Because while we have our client phone numbers written across our metaphorical hearts, the truth is we may not have programmed them into our digital hearts just yet. 


While we're on the subject of cell phone etiquette, check out this hilarious video by the gentlemen over at Fog and Smog: Please Put Your Phone Down

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Is Facebook Right For Your Business? The Litmus Test in 3 Questions

One of the first questions clients will ask me about their marketing strategy is whether they should have a Facebook page. My answer, which may surprise some, is not always "yes".

Facebook is a wonderful social media tool, and it's free! We love free! But the simple fact is that it's not for everybody. When should you plant your flag on Facebook? Some factors to consider:

Question 1: Do you have a secret?

Sounds scandalous! If you have that kind of secret Facebook is probably the least of your problems.  More to my point: are you ready for the public eye?

One company I work with was developing technology for a fun social app. But they were mid-registration, hadn’t yet launched the product in the public space – they were still tweaking the code and handling a few other important housekeeping measures. So for them, jumping on Facebook would have been a flat-out mistake that early in the game. Yes, by putting themselves on Facebook they would have been gaining a few hundred fans, but at the risk of exposing their IP before it was well-protected.

As with every decision you make at your business, consider the costs versus the benefits before creating an account that shines the public spotlight on you and what you’re doing. Ask yourself whether you’re truly ready to walk the cyber catwalk of Facebook just yet.


Question 2: Do you have the resources to fully participate in Facebook?

Social media is not just about staking your claim to cyber real estate. Social media depends upon an unwritten agreement to participate in a social circle that has been created. So before you create a Facebook page, you owe it to yourself and everyone else on Facebook to determine whether you have – or are willing to commit – the resources to not only update the page but interact with customers... or will you just be taking up space?

The best social media evolves for businesses when they are able to strengthen brand by interacting positively with their customers online. If you set up a page just to plant your flag in the Facebook space, people will notice. Don’t believe me? Time for a cautionary tale:

Katy Goshtasbi, is CEO of Puris Image, a personal brand consulting firm in Southern California. Katy’s work with her clients, who are often high-level executives in various organizations, can often involve her reviewing their personal brand through the lens of how they dress. She noticed she had created a habit of taking clients over and again to Stein Mart, where she often found what she needed to complete a client's image.

So Katy took to Stein Mart's Facebook page. They have a page, so they must care about interacting with their loyal client, no? Emphasis on “no”. Katy tells me:

My clients spend on average $500-$2000 per trip AND always go back for more. So last year, I started posting my success stories on the Stein Mart FB page and asked to speak to their marketing person (on their FB page). They completely ignored me! Not even a FB posting of "Thanks”…

When Stein Mart created a Facebook page indicating they wanted to interact with customers and then not actually doing so, they loss some of the good faith you'd like a customer to have in you. What sort of business has a FB page but doesn’t respond to fan letters? Not a good one, that’s for sure. Be a good one!



Question 3: Is Facebook right for your type of business?

While you’re hearing that “eeeeeeveryone” is on Facebook, that’s not entirely true. For some offices or types of businesses it just might not make sense to create a page; in other cases it might be downright tacky. If you run an STD testing service, chances are your clients are gonna be a little shy about giving you the thumbs up on the same page where they swap messages with Aunt Jane. I'll go out on a limb here and say I doubt many mortuaries are trying to curry your favor on the site where you go to get away from it all in the middle of a workday.

Caveat: Some organizations aren't concerned with market demographics - they consciously use Facebook as a billboard. They know that, with great dedication, they can use it to build general awareness.  This is not problematic so long as you are vigilant throughout your marketing strategy that you’re using your time and resources in the best way for your business. You can have the best, most active Facebook page and 1 Million teenage fans, but if you’re a government contractor, you may be spinning your wheels and losing valuable time. Ultimately, your marketing strategy needs to invest in whatever will pay your bills.

Before I let this point go, I should say that Facebook could be even more useful than you realize at first. A senior care supply company might think 90 year olds aren’t trawling Facebook to “like” their latest post— and they'd be right.  But a presence on Facebook would impotantly raise awareness with the children or caretakers of your target audience, who are often in fact the decision makers.

This is why it's important to be thoughtful about what your approach is before making decisions one way or another. Don't just get on Facebook to say you have a page. 


Pass Go: Times to Use Facebook, Regardless --

    1) To grab your URL; if your plans down the line will allow you to meet the time and energy requirements
    2) If you will be using other tools within Facebook and want to anchor them to a page on Facebook
        Examples:
                      -You have an event coming up
                      -You are establishing a location for "check ins"
                      -You want fans, clients, and success stories to be able to share images
    3) If you have an intern and need to keep them busy!

Where Facebook is freely available and offers so many dynamic services within its setup, it's tempting to dive in. You owe it to your company's long-term health and brand integrity to take a thoughtful approach to your media strategy. The simple rule: Only step in when and if you will be able to put your best foot forward.

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Writing A Mass Email Plea That Your Friends Won't Hate

It's a new year, and you've set some lofty goals for acquiring new clients and business, right?... Right?!

It's been a month, so if you haven't done it already, now is the time to sit down and make sure your social circles know where you're trying to go this year. I suggest doing this by sending an email to your friends, family, and colleagues letting them know how they can support you in 2012.  Now, we walk a fine line with this- do it the right way and you might find that the people in your address book are your biggest supporters, they just needed to know how to help.  Do it the wrong way (read: photos, poetry, anything awkward or begging) and you will be in the category otherwise reserved for boring Christmas family newsletters.

It is completely appropriate to keep in touch with your friends about your career developments (in moderation, of course).  By doing so you can avoid the Chandler Bing/Friends scenario where you have a friend for X number of years but absolutely no idea what they do for a living.  Don't be Chandler!  It is incredibly hard to network if people don't even know where you go in the morning.

So when you send that email out, think carefully about it.  Focus in on the major points they need to know about what you are trying to accomplish, and help them understand what their role can be, if they so choose. Do NOT send the email out until you have run through this checklist:

1) Keep it brief.  Your friends have the choice of checking Facebook for the third time this morning or reading your email... why not make that decision easy for them?  If they see a longwinded email coming up on their Blackberry, they will save it for later, and we all know "later" usually means "oh, never".

If you make it short and sweet (and ideally engaging, funny...), they won't mind taking a break to read it in the middle of the workday.   Make it memorable and they're that much more likely to do whatever you're requesting, whether it's referring you clients, "like"ing your company's facebook page, or attending an event you have coming up.  Make it authentic to you and the communications they usually receive from you. 

2) Use subheadings.  Let people skip to the information they want. Bonus points if you make the subheadings interesting. ("Why I Will Name My Firstborn After You", "Three Steps To Securing Sainthood")

3) Assure them.  Is there anything you need to assure them about?  Perhaps they need to know that you won't use their information or personal contacts inappropriately.  Or maybe you just need remind them that they don't have to worry about getting spammed by you on this topic, that this is a one-off email to get you going for the year.   I suggest avoiding blackmail if possible.

4) Try to avoid duplication and 'reply all's.  These are two top pet peeves for people.  Reply all can be avoided by bcc'ing the parties you're sending to.  cc openly at your own peril.

As for duplicate emails, now is the time to clean up your mailing list.  If you send the email, however compelling, and they get it 3 times, they might delete it out of irritation and not even get to reading it.  I'm guilty of doing this, and you probably are too.  It's a silly error in etiquette and so avoidable - so avoid it!  Make sure your mailing batches are clear before you press send even once. (You're only sending in batches of 20 people because you know to avoid spam filters... right?!)

5) Connect the dots.  Be specific, and make it easy for them to help do what you're asking them to do.  This is the most important thing.  There may be 100 things your friends and associates could do to help you get ahead in the coming year, in fact, you're an entrepreneur, so there probably are.  But don't be like the kid who got granted 3 wishes and tried to wish for 1 million more wishes.  Don't be greedy.  I suggest you hone in on 3-5 clearly defined actions that can be done easily ("Please forward this email to anyone who might find it useful", "Please follow me on Twitter", "Please add me on LinkedIn").  You added "Please" to your requests, right? Because you're polite.

Let them know why you're sending the email and what's in it for them (or their friends).  It's helpful to acknowledge gratitude in advance, and prepare them for any rewards they might receive.  Failing a proper reward system, a nod to good karma will usually do the trick!

Good luck, and may the powers of the original social networking be on your side!

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