Category Archives: Social Media

Social Media Success With Events

Posted on by
1

Francisco Garcia IIIThis week I offer you the first of a series of guest posts, this one focused on using social media to drive successful events IRL. Thanks to my good friend Francisco Garcia (no, not the one who plays for the Sacramento Kings) for taking time to share his experiences here on the blog.

But don’t just read his work, chime in! Please share your own experiences in this capacity so we can all learn from each other!

_________________

In the past, I’ve had the privilege of being asked to aid in the social media efforts of a few conferences, festivals and other events in Austin and the central Texas area. Naturally, it was important with each event to keep attendees informed and engaged, and while some tactics worked better than others, for the majority of the events mentioned herein it was the first time doing anything with social media. This post is meant to show what it was like doing live social media promotion with events and organizations new to the world of social networking.

Social Media for Music and Art Events

This October, I was asked by organizers of Art Outside to help them keep their Twitter account updated. With so much going on at the 3-day camping festival involving musical acts, performance artists, multiple stages, hundreds of volunteers and thousands of attendees, it’s understandable there would be a challenge to keeping up with the online community. There were plenty of people following @ArtOutside’s account and tweeting about what artists they planned to see when they got to the festival. While going through the #ArtOutside tweet stream, I knew I needed a way to keep the Twitter audience’s attention.

Enter CoTweet. Utilizing CoTweet’s tweet scheduling function was a great way to give followers a quick reminder about what kind of performer was going on (musical, painter, visual, performance, etc.), which stage that performer would be on, and what time the performance would occur. Tweets were scheduled for release 15-20 minutes before a performance, giving festival attendees plenty of time to get from their tent, another stage, or from any one point to another within the festival grounds at Apache Pass.

Of course, we took advantage of snapping pics of art installations and music acts whenever the opportunity presented itself. If ever there were a sudden change in schedule due to an artist gone MIA or the onset of unexpected technical problems, that was easily updated. Plus, it helped to be out in the middle of the woods [literally] and still have a great wifi connection.

But with Art Outside, your audience is a good mix of modern and traditional, so it’s important to take the same approach when promoting an event like this. An online platform is great for spreading the word, but having smaller events leading up to the big one is helpful for building that excitement. Giveaways for things such as promotional items or free passes to your event are always a nice way to keep attention.

Social Media for Nonprofit’s Annual Conference

Take the Texas Veterinary Medical Association’s Annual Conference. My former employer had me manage all the social media efforts for their 3-day conference in College Station during March of 2010. The conference is geared strictly toward TVMA members and focuses on opportunities in continuing education. Various members of the veterinary industry set up booths in the exhibit hall to display their products and services, and students from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine were also in attendance, acting as moderators for various speaking engagements.

Now, like many other industries, the veterinary profession in Texas hasn’t totally caught on to social media. There are a few tweeting veterinarians out there like @SnoopyDoc in Houston or @AllanDaleVet in Austin, but the majority of the Texas veterinary industry is still figuring out that tweeting has become more than just “for the birds”. (Sorry, I had to.)

So, before the TVMA annual conference, I had to think of a way to get attending TVMA members to realize @TVMA was on Twitter and Facebook in the first place. Once we had a steady following on these sites, I started with the giveaways. The most successful was a giveaway for 2 pairs of tickets to the conference’s Casino Night.

The rules were simple, be the first to complete this sentence: “A legacy of ___.” TVMA’s slogan is “A legacy of service,” so this was a quick and easy one to win. The incomplete phrase was posted on Twitter and Facebook and both received responses quickly. One TAMU veterinary student responded on Twitter in less than a minute from the original tweet, and another student responded on Facebook within five minutes of the status update. Each winner came to the TVMA booth at the conference to pick up their tickets and take a photo with the prize, which was to be posted on the social networking sites. The contest actually led to a steady rise in followers on Facebook and Twitter during the first few weeks after the conference. Also, members of the veterinary industry started to follow in the footsteps of TVMA.

Social Media for Industry Association Symposium

Finally, there is the Southwest Veterinary Symposium (SWVS), who hired me to do some social media work for their September 2010 event in Fort Worth. There, I monitored both of TVMA’s social networking accounts, since the association is a partner in the conference, with updates on times and room numbers to continuing education opportunities for members. I also updated SWVS’s Twitter account with information on the day’s scheduled events.

The biggest draw here was SWVS’s collaboration with Rumr Marketing. The Rumr reps wandered the exhibit hall at SWVS with t-shirts promoting SWVS’s social networking presence: http://twitpic.com/2risvu. There was a contest giving away a free shirt to attendees who followed SWVS on Facebook or Twitter after spotting the reps. Once again, the freebies are what drew the conference attendees to social media. That, and it helped a bit that a 50” plasma television was placed at my social media station to display real-time tweets and status updates.

When passers-by saw the screen with a Facebook page or Twitter stream, it was a chance to approach them and ask how familiar they were with social networking and how they thought it might help their business in the veterinary profession. Some admitted to hardly ever being active online, some only used Facebook, and very few were familiar with Twitter.  This all gave me and the people at Rumr Marketing a better understanding of who and what was working in terms of active online users.

Conclusion

Like the veterinary profession, there are plenty of industries out there that are trying to get a handle on how social media can benefit them. What challenges have you come across when doing social media marketing and promotion for a small business or event? How did you overcome those challenges? How might you handle working social media for an event or industry new to the platform?

Read more posts from Return On Now about Social Media.

____________________

Public Relations: How It Works In A Social World

Posted on by
4

This week, let’s take a moment to look at PR / Public Relations for a moment. PR has long been a primary way by which companies of all sizes influence public opinion, build brand awareness and familiarity, and create general goodwill toward a brand.

With the latest social media tools and networking capabilities, there has been a great deal of debate about how PR is changing. Some speculate that the discipline is due to become obsolete, others advocate a revamped approach, and still others merely see today’s PR environment as a small offshoot of how we have always done it.

Is PR on the brink of extinction?

Let’s start with the notion that public relations is rapidly working its way toward obsolescence. First, let’s set some parameters. One of the best definitions I’ve seen for the term appears on YourDictionary.com as follows:

Relations with the general public as through publicity; specif., those functions of a corporation, organization, etc. concerned with attempting to create favorable public opinion for itself.

If we look at PR holistically in this way, then social media or social networking is only another medium by which to reach out to constituents. It just allows us to reach more people individually, and in real-time.

Based on this definition, extinction is nowhere near the truth.

Is PR simply undergoing a small evolution?

It would be easy to brush aside the impact of social-based communications media as merely a knit in the grand scheme of public relations, but is that the right way to look at it?

One this is clear; the days of writing press releases and email spamming them out to massive lists of reporters and journalists are behind us. The funny part is that this is less a result of new social tools, and more of a motivating factor from journalists to take back control of their In-Boxes.

So the real question is how big of an evolution this represents. Because reporters and journalists themselves are looking for other ways to communicate and research information, calling it a small evolution is also a bit short-sighted.

It’s Time To Look at Public Relations Differently

Let’s just get the extremes out of the way altogether and accept the fact that PR is still PR, only it takes on a rather different look in the digital age. Here are areas where it has changed the most.

Outreach

Outreach is the area that is most affected by the digital age. The old way was to “dial for dollars” until you could get a journalist on the phone, and then hope you said something intriguing enough for them to care. Then spam out press releases when they go live and hope for a bite, and start dialing again to see if you can talk someone into picking it up. Heck, this sounds a lot like a business development job, only one that doesn’t pay nearly as well!

Today the whole thing changes. You can meet and build rapport with press and/or analysts immediately. With the right approach, you can maximize exposure while minimizing negative reactions, assuming you have tact, of course. All-in-all, your efforts to connect with those influencers who can help you the most take on an unprecedented amplification in this day and age.

Content Format

Hand-in-hand with new abilities to reach more influencers much more easily, you now have a much richer array of media by which to communicate your message.  Today, you can write a traditional press release, follow it up by a series of micro-releases via PitchEngine or another social PR site, add an audio podcast for those who don’t have time to read but might listen, and even do a complementary short video to help hammer the point home.

The most savvy of PR professionals are all over this. The whole concept of a viral video is exactly in line with this. We keep talking about how Old Spice did such an amazing social media campaign earlier in the summer, but is that what it really was? No! It was a well-constructed and targeted public relations campaign delivered via social media!

Direct Reach to End Customers

This is the area that can be the most powerful, but also the most scary to many of us. This presents a great opportunity, and a new challenge.

First, by reaching end customers directly, we remove the media filter that content might go through when written up for a traditional or online media outlet. You control the message, its delivery, and how you respond to feedback and comments in response. Sure, you have to find creative ways to get in front of those customers, but it’s a revelation that you don’t have to depend on someone else’s opinion of what is important anymore. We should all be rejoicing in the streets at this opportunity!

On the other hand, with opportunity comes increased risk of tripping over your own two feet. What you say, how you say it, and how you react to criticism and/or kudos goes a long way in establishing who you and your company are. If you’re even dabbling in social media, you probably realize that the conversation is happening with or without you, so you know you need to jump in to help influence the sentiment about your business. This is where transparency, honesty, and trust become paramount. At the first sign of shady dealings, the general public will rapidly and happily kick you in the shin.

Conclusion

Don’t listen to anyone who claims PR is obsolete or the “same old same old” in this amazing digital age we are enjoying. This is a rather significant shift, yet one that can provide more value back than ever before. Just be careful how you manage it, be up front and honest, and be sure what you have to say is relevant and interesting. From there, let the public influence each other, and be consistent enough to show that you truly are who you say you are.

What is your experience with PR and social media? Have you been using it in these ways, or are you still trying to figure out how to play in this new environment? Any tips to share that I missed? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Social Networking: Blend With REAL Networking for Effectiveness

Posted on by
3

The old adage It’s not what you know; it’s who you know may be seen as a tired cliche in many circles these days, with good reason. This is what you’d expect from overused analogies like this one.

Tired or not, it is still absolutely a fact. Thought leaders spend unbelievable time and effort trying to hammer home this message in an online context, wrapping words like social networking, social media, social graph, and other terms around it in hopes of getting the message across.

The problem? Well, there is a forest, and there are some trees, but are they one and the same? Not really…

Social Networking vs. Social Media

First let’s draw lines between a couple of terms that I see being used interchangeably far too often. My loose definitions read something like this:

Social Networking

The act of reaching out to and engaging others via whatever means possible, including social media, traditional media, real-time communications vehicles (phone, SMS), or even an in-person conversation (remember those?).

Social Media

The category term for data-driven services and tools, typically delivered over the Internet, that enable networking of various types by providing new and novel communications capabilities, leading to unique ways of sharing and spreading messages with your network.

Social Networking = Networking

Social Networking: Get Out There And Meet Someone

Social Networking: Get Out There And Meet Someone

Bear with me for a moment as I explain the thinking on this one. I’m positing that Social Networking is nothing new. In fact it’s simply old fashioned networking, with new communications vehicles available for the exchange of information and referrals.

At the end of the day, we are still people with real-world needs. This isn’t just about the “must haves” from Maslow’s Triangle either. We get our food, shelter, etc. (the basics) handled offline with our day-to-day lives. But all of that stuff about self-actualization, spiritual growth, career progression, etc. take much more than us working hard during the day and cashing checks for our time and effort.

Now we just have limitless opportunity to expand the “who” in our analogy above. The days are over where your only networking option was to go one of to those awful events where a bunch of Type A exec-wannabes are running around in Dockers, with their hand extended to shake yours, and a business card waiting to be shoved into your pocket in the other hand. Or where you had to arrange your schedule around an event where a thought leader is speaking, just so you can wait in line to guffaw over them and hope you don’t look like a dopey (or creepy) stalker-in-waiting.

Now we can build rapport with anyone that makes him- or herself available. We can establish mutual interest, trust, even schedule availability to meet in real-time.

And once we meet, we already have a foundation upon which to spark interesting conversation. I must say, any introverts who aren’t rejoicing at this newfound way to “come out of their shell” are simply missing the big picture!

New Tools; Old Techniques

The key thing to keep in mind is that all of these cool new tools, websites, and services are just that…tools for us to use. We need to then apply tried-and-true networking and communications techniques to these new tools, and we’ll be able to more nimbly craft networking strategies that take advantage of both the new capabilities and approaches that work.

Once we get that part in order, we can start to experiment with any sort of newfound techniques. Perhaps certain types of discussions are better started on a microblogging service, while others are better on a career networking site. Maybe some belong on Facebook but wouldn’t work anywhere else. I’ve found that Twitter is great for exchanging ideas, sharing content, and promoting services tactfully (i.e. no hard sells). LinkedIn is great for reconnecting with old colleagues, interacting in groups with likeminded professionals, and trying to connect your way to the right people via a “6 degrees of separation” like effort.

You get the picture. These new tools are great, but they can only go so far as your imagination. Get the basics down first…how to use these tools for traditional / IRL networking…and then you can start to try new things. And yes, this does involve getting off the computer and meeting someone in person! If that’s not one of the reasons you’re doing this, then it should be.

_______________________________

What have you observed in the past in this area? How much more effective has it been for you when you blend offline networking with online / social media-based networking? What do you deem the best mix? Or alternatively, have you seen the opposite?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please share in the comments below.

Social Media Analogies

Posted on by
8

Let’s take a quick break from the serious topics today. In a recent conversation with a colleague of mine, I sat and watched as he struggled to come up with a new analogy for social media as a whole.

Of course, through those struggles, we both realized that it’s not quite the easiest thing to liken to another concept. At the same time, many people had already attempted to do so.

In honor of his struggles and our on-the-spot realization, I present to you the following possible analogies for social media. These all include citations if you wish to learn more about the thought process for yourself, and I’d welcome any commentary on whether you agree or disagree with my assessment of each.

Cocktail Party

Is Social Media like a cocktail party?

Is Social Media like a cocktail party?

This is perhaps the most obvious, and as a result, the most quoted analogy for social media. Essentially, it posits that social media is a virtual party, and we are just participants in the festivities. While that is certainly a plausible comparison, it overlooks much of the additional value that social media can provide above and beyond that of a cocktail party or other type of party (the latter of which says your blog is your home…welcome to my humble abode!).

For a simplistic model, I suppose, this would suffice. But once you really “get” what social media is all about, it becomes clearly too low of a target.

High School

Wow, I really hope this doesn’t stick, because I have no desire in any shape or form to go back to that stage of my life! Collective Thoughts shared one interesting write up that presents the thought process behind this idea. They hit on everything from parties, to gossip, to clubs and cliques. This is actually a pretty decent comparison overall, but it still fails to hit the nail right on the head.

Give the original write up as linked above a read to see what you think. Since I personally have a mental block against the idea of spending my time dabbling with a return to high school, I’ll leave it at that.

A Plague

I included this one just to see if you are paying attention. (Clearly, if you are reading this, you are.)

That said, The Relationship Economy did a post on this topic, but it didn’t deliver on the promise. Great example of why your blog posts should be titled something that actually relates to the content it covers (might as well make something of this otherwise wasted space).

Fly Fishing

Cheers for Marketing Profs for first proposing this analogy. This analogy boils down to some key attributes of social media that also remain similar when fly fishing: Go where your target audience is (or where the fish swim), let go of the urge to control, focus on executing properly, and dig in because you can’t fish without getting wet.

I must say, this is perhaps the best analogy I was able to find referenced online. Give a read to the original blog post and see for yourself.

The Next Step in Human Evolution

Yes, I went there. This isn’t a commentary meant to elicit Orwellian fears of any sort. Back in 2007, a fellow named Arun Radhakrishnan gave his take on this viewpoint. I must say, he makes a compelling argument for why the development of language itself, long considered a key evolution point for homo sapiens as a whole, has striking similarities in impact to how social media is changing our communications reach, habits, etc.

Social Media = Step In Human Evolution?

Is Social Media just another step in human evolution?

While this looks to be just a clever brainstorm, it does raise the question for me…was Arun right? Is this the next logical step in human evolution, or just a shiny new toy? The biggest argument against this concept is that language actually originates and is mostly participated in by actual humans, without media involved. The written word, obviously, changed that detail, but it didn’t fundamentally change language. It extended our capabilities to use it, much like social media.

So I guess I might buy that social media is the next evolution of the written and/or recorded word. But certainly not of language or humankind.

A Symphony

CausePlanet.org was the first place I saw this analogy, and they made the best argument for it as an analogy that I have seen. They spun together a clever tale about how the various instruments and parts of the orchestra must be aligned much like your various customer touchpoints and social media (website, blog, social profiles, etc.).

While this is a great inside-out view of social media, it fails to take into account the impact of true interaction and relationship building.  Good analogy, just not 100% real world.

Conclusion

There you have it…a handful of interesting and creative takes on how to explain social media to a “noob”.

Have you seen any other interesting analogies? Is there one out there that is far better than all of these? Do you have your own analogy that you’d be willing to share?

Please chime in below and let’s get a good conversation going here. Thanks for reading!

Read more posts from Return On Now about Social Media.

____________________

Social Media or Journalism?

Posted on by
Reply

After the response I received to the previous cartoon from xkcd.com, I had to come back with another one that caught my attention.For those of you in the true  journalism profession, surely this hits home.

Look for a “real” post later this week, but for now enjoy the following…

Social Media or Journalism?

Read more posts from Return On Now about Social Media.

____________________

6 Questions To Test Credibility of Content in a Social World

Posted on by
12

Everyone out there is talking about social media, the new opportunities and risks it poses, and how to best use it. In response, your peers have begun an aggressive push to figure out what the various tools, sites, and techniques can offer their business. This is a great thing, one that I’ve been cheering on since the start.

In reality, we’ve only taken baby steps toward really getting this all figured out in both a personal and business context. With so much left to learn and so many different opinions about this fast-changing area, it’s easy to get carried away with the excitement of mastering some new tricks.

“Generate content. Generate more content. Be sure it’s relevant. The eyeballs will come!”

What about the “eyeballs”? Sure, relevant content written in a compelling manner will attract attention. That should make the information sources happy. Who is looking out for the consumers of the content?

Citizen Journalism: Fact Vs. Opinion

Citizen Journalism: If We All Blog, Who Is Credible?In case you are unfamiliar with the term, Citizen Journalism involves the “public” taking an active role in researching, analyzing, summarizing, and sharing new, information, data, gossip, multimedia, etc. that other members of the public would want to consume and/or discuss. If you think about all of the social media tools available to us — bookmarking, blogging, networking, content sharing — they are geared toward exactly that means.

This sort of empowerment of voice is truly a breakthrough that the Internet has been so kind as to provide us. But how would one know when something is “true” or “correct”? Sure, there are easy ways to do this based on public opinion, but then again, does popularity really prove anything, except the fact that a writer can get and hold your attention?

It is essential that you take a critical eye toward everything you read online. Even the stuff written by the “experts” or “thought leaders”. The following is a quick 6-question guide for completing a “stink test” on anything you read online.

Do I know and trust them already?

This is the no-brainer, and the premise behind Google Caffeine. If you know someone, their intelligence level, their credibility and trustworthiness, and their ability to assimilate information, why wouldn’t you put credence into their thoughts and opinions? If they are trustworthy and dependable, you know they won’t bend the truth just to make a point. And if you know them, you likely also know what their area of specialty is, which should significantly enhance your confidence in their writings on said topic.

Whether you are a fan of Caffeine (the search logic, not the stimulant) or not, it was built on a sound assumption that I anticipate will be proven useful. Don’t just search for me based on cryptic formulas and keywords; also filter those results for the colleagues and friends with whom I’ve already established a base level of credibility.

Was it recommended to me by someone I know and trust?

Extending out one more degree away from you (even Kevin Bacon would be proud), you don’t have to necessarily know someone personally to quickly establish credibility. When a trusted contact of mine makes a recommendation, I take it at face value. If you are like most of us, you likely do the same.

Think about Twitter for a moment. They’ve taken this concept and run with it. For example…Retweets, Lists, and even Follow Friday. Those traditions are all various methods of connecting people to each other (or to each other’s content) via recommendation. They are popular for a reason, and this is it.

Are they known as a reliable source?

This is where reputation comes into play. The first two tests are the most obvious and easiest to answer. For anyone who doesn’t make it through those filters, it makes sense to then consider public opinion. Are they a well-respected thought leader, a’la Chris Brogan (Social Media), Erin Jacobs (IT and Information Security), or Seth Godin (Marketing Strategies)? Do many of their peers seem to link to them?

It is important to consider whether someone is popular because they are already in established media, or whether they were popular on their own right before going in print or on the radio/television. All the three examples above established strong personal identities on their own merit. That’s what you need to look for.

What else have they written or said?

Perhaps the person under question for you is an unknown commodity, to you, your peers, and to the general public. Don’t just assume that means their opinions are not important. If you like a piece they’ve written, take a few moments to peruse more of their work. Share some of the “eyeball” love! You just might be the person whom your peers will trust when they are evaluating the same individual’s work in the near future.

What are the top minds in the space saying?

Hmmm, so you and your peers don’t know the person, they aren’t an established thought leader or information source, and you’ve read more of their work…but you still can’t determine the difference between fact or “quack”.

Compare notes. Do a quick search on the topic under question. See what others are saying. Is this a popular opinion or a unique one? Do you agree with popular opinion or not? Perhaps the masses are still singing the same old song while this one person truly gets it! Or perhaps the writing was hammered out while under a peyote-induced haze. This is where you need to really insert some of your own rationale into the process, as in…

What does my gut tell me?

That’s right. There is no perfect system, but at the end of the day, what do you really think? Did the writing move you to change your mind about something? Is that a sensible reaction or not? This isn’t saying to blindly accept something as fact, but quite the opposite. By this point, you’ve done enough consideration of whether they are credible or not. You’ve seen what peers, experts, and popular opinion think about them or the topic. Read, analyze, draw your own conclusions, and move on. Or maybe you can just post your thoughts to a blog, citizen journalism style!

Conclusion

Everyone is jumping on the citizen journalism bandwagon these days. That can be a great thing, but you want to be sure to use some calculated filtering of what you read out there. This isn’t just limited to blogs and social media; be critical of the established media as well.

What approach do you use with user-generated content? Do you tend to believe everything, nothing, or something in between? Do you have a better approach to the “stink test”? Fill me in!

Social Media: 3 Situations Where It Is NOT Right For Your Business

Posted on by
8

Judging by the pageview stats and general response, it is pretty clear that my last post, Social Media is NOT a Strategy, really caught your attention. Since I’m on a roll with the whole “not” thing, let’s come at it from another angle.

Like I said last week, I am a huge proponent of using social media for specific business purposes, particularly when you can measure it.  This is in addition to my “doesn’t have to be said” stance that everyone with an online identity should be using it for personal reasons. But just because it’s a no-brainer for personal use and is a great new tool for business, that doesn’t say it is right for YOUR business.

When is Social Media Not Right for Your Business?

Keep in mind what I said last week about getting your objectives figured out prior to attacking social media without any direction. That’s always the first critical step. However, even if your objectives might suggest that social media could provide value for you, that might not always be the case. Here are 3 situations where you might want to try other avenues first.

Your Target Audience Is Not Online

This is one area where my previous post should ring most relevant to you. Obviously, you want to make sure your customers and prospects can actually be found through whatever mediums you select upon which to execute any of your most critical strategies. For example, Facebook stats show that there are precious few elderly folks with profiles. The same holds true across most platforms.

I had someone approach me a while back about whether they needed to be on Facebook. Guess what they were selling…hearing aids! ["Um, lemme think for a sec, NO!"] In fact, the oldest demographic of our population is least likely to be computer literate at all, let alone actually savvy enough to move beyond games and email to social media. It’s not hard to find them…just rely on the established mass media and direct marketing techniques that they grew up knowing and understanding.

You Have Not Gotten The Basics In Order First

Not to harp on the topic, but the OST (Objectives, Strategies, Tactics) approach can help prioritize what the most important business objectives are. Then you designate the strategies and align against it. The next step, which should most certainly be undertaken prior to experimentation with new technologies and tools, is to get the actual PR, marketing, networking, etc. activities figured out using the tools that you already know and understand.

Granted, some of these don’t work like they once did, but I’m a staunch believer that you need to understand the past to move on into the future. Make sure you establish operating procedures, processes, and other business critical variables first. Then and only then should you start to throw darts at a wall to see what sticks.

Your Team Cannot Commit To It

Regardless what anyone says, social media is in no way free. Sure, you can throw together a profile on the various social media properties at no cost. You can start posting content to a blog or Twitter daily, hourly, whatever you deem appropriate. Is that free? What is your time worth? Who will do it for you?

If you or your team has to spend time on something, it is crucial to consider the opportunity cost associated with that activity. What would you or your marketing team be doing with that time otherwise? Will social media get the level of attention and effort it deserves? I hope so. The worst thing you can do is jump in with a head of steam and then drop it mid-stream, as soon as other priorities start to interfere. Just look at the trail of dead blogs out there and you’ll see what I mean.

If you intend to do it, you simply cannot cut corners. There is a real time and effort “fee” associated with social media. Do the calculation of your expected manhours, the cost for that time investment, and what you are leaving by the wayside to do so. Then decide if that number is large enough to hire someone full-time or as an outside consultant to execute on your behalf. If you aren’t willing to invest in it at some level, you’re better off sticking to your established methods of doing business.

Conclusion

Social media is a major shift in the way we can interact and market ourselves. It finally uses the internet as intended…in a fully interactive and organic fashion. But you simply cannot get so excited about it that you jump in without considering if it is actually relevant to your business. Surely there are other situations where you are better off delaying or ignoring social media as a communication medium, but here are three biggie’s that I see overlooked frequently.

Have you seen any other situations I’m missing? Did you experiment with social media and find that it is not a fit? How did that impact your business? I’d love to hear some real-world accounts of this, so please share your thoughts.

Read more posts from Return On Now about Social Media.

____________________

Social Media is NOT a Strategy

Posted on by
22

Really got your attention with that headline, didn’t I? It’s not just a ploy to get cheap clicks.

Enough with the Hype

As you are surely aware by now, I’m a huge fan of social media, new media, social networking, sharing/bookmarking, and pretty much every other cool social offering out there. I spend countless hours playing with different services, sites, and techniques on a weekly basis. Heck, I’ve met some good friends and amazing colleagues through various forms of social networking.

Let’s get one thing straight though…most of what is being thrown around as strategic advice is nothing but some good ol’ fashioned hype. Yes, there is a time and place for social networking and social media. Yes, there appears to be a list of actual money-making techniques that can be employed to derive financial value from these services. But a great deal of this yammering about ROI is just that…talk.

I’ve seen a few select examples of how social media can be used for B2B in a measurable fashion, but I’ve also seen many more examples of futile attempts at replicating these successes. And that’s not even to mention the widespread list of social media “gurus” and “experts” who throw around pie-in-the-sky advice about how you should be using social media. My message to them: Show me real world examples.

Social Media is NOT a Strategy

I recall earlier in my career when the Internet and email marketing were the hot trends. We had long conversations about our “email marketing strategy”, right after we finished talking about our “trade show strategy”, “web site strategy”, and “direct mail strategy.” We thought we were cutting edge, until someone who actually knew what they were talking about chimed in.

“Do you understand the difference between a tactic and a strategy?”

No one in the room could give a reasonable answer to that question. Luckily, I was just a couple of years out of school, so I could chalk up my “deer in the headlights” response to inexperience. But today I’m seeing the same trend. I see all of these people talking about social media strategy, content strategy, even Twitter strategy!

Let’ s get one thing straight – a strategy requires high level thinking. A medium is simply a tactic that should support a true strategy. Twitter, my friends, is a tactic, a medium. Plain and simply.

Now, many of the consultants out there will sell you on why you need a “social media strategy.” I agree that you need a plan for how to integrate social media into your business operations. But social media as the strategy itself? What’s the objective behind it…to meet a bunch of cool people and LOL/LMAO/LMFAO our way to the bank? Maybe it is a real and profitable  strategy for the smart entrepreneurs, pundits, and consultants who keep dangling shiny new toys and techniques in front of you. For the rest of us, we need to take a chill pill and think for a second.

Strategic Thinking Should Come BEFORE Tactics and Media!

This is a very important point. You work for a business (or run a business in some of your cases). That business has important metrics to meet in order to succeed. Those metrics might be growing revenue, signing up “n” new customers, reducing business expenses, or even “keeping” the loyal and profitable customers or clients with whom you’ve built valuable relationships.

What do these metrics have to do with the subject of this post? Strategy must be derived from important business objectives. It must also be measured against real business metrics to benchmark success. The metrics should be driving the objectives, which in turn should be driving your strategic decisions. Then, and only then, should you turn your attention to go-to-market tactics.

Simple Process To Think More Strategically

  1. Set your high level objective(s) – Well-crafted objectives should also be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-Bound). A good objective will often start with the word “To”, as in “To build a new channel of 20 resellers in the southeast USA by December 31, 2010″. That’s a darn SMART goal, as well.
  2. Determine the strategy that will help meet your objective – Cool, so this is where I say “how” I will meet that objective. Is the right answer to “start using social media”? Of course not. There’s no logical connection between the objective and the “strategy” proposed, like that of the underpants gnomes as shown in the image below. The strategy might be to launch a recruitment and qualification program for a very particular type of reseller in the region specified. Notice we haven’t talked about how to execute it yet; just what we are trying to do from a high level to meet the objective.
  3. Outline the tactics that will help the strategy meet the designated metrics – Now we are ready to talk about tactics and media. Here you can get into specific messaging, targeting approach, and the exact media you intend to employ to make it happen. It should also indicate how you intend to measure each tactic/medium, and how that rolls up to help meet the overall goal as designated in #1 above.
Underpants Gnomes: “Strategy” for Profitability
Underpants Gnomes: “Strategy” for Profitability (courtesy of thinkprocess.org)

Conclusion

Strategic thinking is very important, and a simple objectives/strategy/tactics model should prove very helpful in keeping this all in perspective. Let’s start talking about how to fit social media into our existing businesses and our overall media mix in a truly integrated fashion. This argument is not a new one; I was having conversations like this in the mid-90s!

What do you think? Do you view social media as a strategy? Is that a realistic way to look at it? It’s most certainly not just a “fad”, as I’ve heard many baby boomers refer to it. The Internet was tailor made for this sort of interaction, so that narrow viewpoint is extremely naive.

Will you think about it differently now, or did you already manage to sort all this out for yourself amidst the hype?

Read more posts from Return On Now about Social Media.

____________________