Brad Marley's Blog

Keeping Up with Social Media Upkeep

I'll admit it: I am struggling to establish my social media visibility.

Aside from this blog, I have accounts on Delicious, Digg, Facebook, LinkedIn, Technorati, Twitter, and YouTube.

Of those seven sites, I use three (maybe four) on a regular basis.  Just having to maintain those four is a daunting task, but, apparently, that's not enough.

Social media extraordinaire Chris Brogan, who practically wrote the book on social media (that book is called "Personal Branding for the Business Professional") suggests one should also create accounts on Discus (this site no longer exists), Gmail, Flickr, FriendFeed, Plaxo, StumbleUpon, and Upcoming.org.

Dude.

To be honest, the thought of having upward of a dozen sites to maintain causes me to break out into a cold sweat.  I mean, unless your job is social media, who has time to keep up?  It makes the social upkeep you're doing on the side seem like, well, your job.

Does anybody else share this predicament?  If so, what do you feel is the best strategy for maintaining your visibility?

The Detroit Lions Brand-New Brand

From a PR perspective, I totally get why the Detroit Lions introduced a new "streamlined brand" this afternoon.

Last year they became the first National Football League team to install a crisis communications plan for their on-field performance. 

To alleviate the damage of a winless season, the front office decided they needed to get as far away as possible from anything associated with the 2008 team. I liken it to Matt Millen opting for plastic surgery at the height of his tenure as general manager of the team: the more unrecognizable, the better.

While changing the look and feel of a team can be viewed as reeking of desperation, it's the logical decision for a team in dire need of a face lift.

Obviously, some brands -- read: the New York Yankees-- are off-limits as far as changing the brand. Those teams enjoy a loyalty so fierce, and a history so ingrained in their fan base, that to change the logo would be akin to changing the design of the Star Spangled Banner.

But other teams, like said Lions, have this option at their disposal. They have been so bad, for so long, that they need to change the public's perception. 

After all, they failed to sell-out five home games last year.  In the NFL, it takes a special team to drive their fans away, but the Lions are that team.

That signaled the need for a drastic overhaul.

(And winning a few games might help, too.)