The Business Behind Social Media

I don’t know about you but there are days that I just can’t read one more article or blog on social media and I most certainly shy away from any videos that are more than two minutes long.  So why did I just spend an hour watching a video on Social Media you might ask?  The panel happened to be some of my favorite industry experts (Chris Brogan, David Meerman Scott, and Charlene Li) and I find their approach and industry experience to be as good as it gets today.  Here are some of the highlights in case you don’t have an hour to tune in. watch?v=2cotW5pZgeU

• Having a STRATEGY is the most important part of having a social media presence.  Your strategy must be linked with your business objectives or you are wasting your time.
• Listen and participate (comment, participate in forums) before you dive in.
• Any company that insists on just talking about their products is missing the boat.  Be there to solve problems, and to engage
• Encourage your employees to participate but do not make it mandatory, this is not for everybody!
• In terms of measurement; look for increase in revenue, increase in acquisition,# of subscribers, increase in open rates, sentiment, and an understanding of where your brand or product categories rank in google search.
• When asked to name a few large consumer brands that have “cracked the code” they responded with the U.S. Air Force, Citibank, Dell.  Some of the commonalities these organizations share contributing to their success are their confidence in allowing employees to take ownership, their leadership and specific defining their “openess” as an organization and the establishment of guidelines.

Overall, I thought the panel and discussion topics provided a great “sense check” for those of us playing in the social sand box.  As always, I chuckle when David Meerman Scott addresses the ROI question… he was more tame in this forum but I couldn’t agree more… “sometimes you do something because it’s just the right thing to do”.

Tags: Charlene Li, Chris Brogan, Citibank, David Meerman Scott, Dell, Social Media guidelines, Social Media ROI, U.S. Airforce

The Three A’s of Listening

If there was one key reminder that I took away yesterday from hearing Chris Brogan address the Social Media Breakfast MN/St.Paul group it was the importance of listening as a key pillar of all of our social media marketing efforts.  He went on to say that it is through this one action that businesses have been able to see the biggest positive effect of this movement.  Members of the retail community (Best Buy and Select Comfort) echoed Brogan’s sentiments.  Revolutionary? No, but a good reminder nonetheless.

I think what they are actually trying to say is that this listening has become a lost art and companies like General Motors are finally asking consumers what they think and but unfortunately it may be too late for them to respond.

Listening has been described as “ hearing with a purpose”. Good listening is built on three basic skills: attitude, attention, and adjustment.  If you acknowledge these three A’s, you can tune into any situation and know what to do next.   It is only with an open ear that we can create change.

Tags: Best Buy, Chris Brogan, General Motors, Listening, Select Comfort

Hopping on the Social Media Train

I continue to be amazed, overwhelmed, excited, and challenged by the staggering amount of social media content published on the web today.  There are subject matter “experts” that emerge daily, there are webinars, symposiums, universities (I am attending the Social Media Magic University as we speak), blogs, and more blogs.  There are superfluous numbers of Flip cameras circumventing venues providing vignettes from the presenters demonstrating all that you missed by not attending.  Most days this frenzy can make your head spin if you let it.

As a student of social media, and aren’t we all, really?, I decided early on to rely on the wisdom of just a handful of experts that I could connect with, those whose content spoke to me, and to stop right there.  I read as many books and blogs of Seth Godin, David Meerman Scott and Chris Brogan.  If I went too far beyond that audience in the beginning I began to get anxious.  I wanted to know “it all”.  Several months into my social media studies I realized that nobody knows it all and even the “experts” are on a journey with no road map.

So don’t be intimidated if you are just hopping on the social media train.  It is a journey, a destination is yet to be defined and it is heading in one direction, forward, with no plans on turning around.  Just hop on.

Tags: Chris Brogan, David Meerman Scott, Flip cameras, Seth Godin, Social Media Magic