Social Media Marketing Interviews - Lou Tisler

Lou Tisler is the executive director of the Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland

MZ: Describe what projects/organizations/activities you have marketed using social networking?
Lou Tisler: NHSGC uses social networking for job postings via LinkedIn. We use FB for press events, classes, local-regional-statewide-national issues that we think are important for achieving, preserving and sustaining homeownership.

MZ: What social media sites have you used for marketing?
Lou Tisler: LI for job openings, FB for all other, Twitter - we have accounts, but only so others don't squat on them; we don't have a Twitter strategy yet. We also use Leaders for Communities due to our national affiliation.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been most effective?
Lou Tisler: Issue-oriented notifications. NHSGC tries not to use FB as a brag book.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been least effective?
Lou Tisler: We continue to have difficulty in engaging those that we reach out to. Many of our posts asks for input, but though people are reading and understanding, they are not taking the time to engage further.

MZ: What is the most important thing social media marketing provides that traditional marketing doesn’t?
Lou Tisler: Cost effective outreach across a broad spectrum of demographics, geography and sectors.

MZ: Have you experienced any drawbacks using social media for marketing?
Lou Tisler: at times, it is interpreted differently than posted. Case in point, when we did a posting it listed Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland Convicted of Mortgage Fraud. The headline link was "Convicted of Mortgage Fraud" and we had a banker ask why we were convicted, where we were really pointing to the story.

MZ: How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts?
Lou Tisler: We have 1,700 friends, which we would prefer to have more local, statewide and national, but having colleagues in meetings tell me that they saw or knew of something we were doing shows that our message is being received.

MZ: What is the one most important quality necessary for a successful social media marketing plan?
Lou Tisler: Commit to it and don't do it half a....

MZ: What is the one most critical thing to avoid when using social media marketing?
Lou Tisler: For us, it is don't inundate, don't pat yourself on the back all the time, raise all ships with praise of accomplishment (of others)

MZ: Do you have any other advice for an individual or organization attempting to use social media marketing?
Lou Tisler: Be succinct, show you care, look at your lists and see who you are really writing to.