Tag Archives: Social Media

Come share your Social Media experiences

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If you’re based in the Isle of Man, then you might be interested in a Social Media themed event next Thursday 13th September. It’s a meet-up of Social Media Club who meet every Third Thursday for a casual lunch. Everyone who comes is interested in some shape or form of Social Media, be it blogging, microblogging, social networks etc.

With social media entering every part of our lives, both personal and professional, it’s a great opportunity to meet and discuss ideas with people working in this space. It doesn’t matter if you’re starting a company blog for a finance firm, or setting up a Twitter account for a disability appeal product or just interested in using Social Media to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing, come and join us and learn more. You can read more about it here.

The truth about social media

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There’s been a lot written about social media and its impact on organisations today, but it’s easy to be caught up in the hype and dedicate a disproportional amount of effort into tapping into the medium. This may make sense of some businesses, but not all. For example, if you’re company selling a specialised form of rv warranty, then you may think that social media may be a good way to get in touch with your niche, but once you factor in that most of your audience prefer reading RV magazines, to spending time online, you have to start asking questions around the return on your investment.

The truth is, Social Media channels are really just one of a number of channels that exist today. They need to form part of your marketing plan, and not replace any previous campaigns you had without due consideration and careful thought. Look at where your audience is heading and that will give you an indication of to where you need to go. Social Media is becoming the place to be for many companies .. but not all of them. Which one are you>

Creating a Social Media Plan

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NEW YORK - DECEMBER 11: Jocelyn Taub, a job-h...

I came across an interesting post the other day that puts together an action plan of how one should tackle a new social media engagement, specifically around a marketing engagement. Here are the steps it defines:

  1. Understand what social media is: First of all you need to learn about social media and the different channels that make it up. Remember that these change over time. Twitter wasn’t important a year ago and who know what will be next year.
  2. Understand what social media can and can’t do: It’s not a magic bullet that can cure all ills, and it’s very hard to get a hard ROI off it. Understand what benefits you’re looking for, whether it’s conversion or just brand awareness and apply them to the medium,
  3. Determine where conversations are happening: Put some effort into analysing the ecosystem. There are a number of social media monitoring tools out there that you can use to understand where conversations are happening.
  4. Divide .. : Decide which social networks you’re going to target. Based on capabilities, usage and profiles this will be a selection rather than the whole set.
  5. and Conquer: Implement your strategy across the channels you have selected and using the mechanisms you have decided. Remember that each channel is different and what works in one may not work in another. Don’t forget to define what you consider a success in each channel.
  6. Trust in the Force: Social engagement is all about Trust. You need to gain this from your channels and it’s awfully easy to lose. So be sincere and honest in your relationship as this is the key to your success.

These steps are important whether you’re promoting Britney Spears or just trying to sell social security disability online, and following a plan is always better than jumping in without looking.

Some interesting ideas in there. What do you think?

Social Media helps you drill down

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I was reading an article called A Business Marketer’s Guide to Social Media which has some interesting thoughts. It’s almost a year old, which is a very long time in an emerging market, but it puts forward an interesting point. Social Media helps businesses get more granular in their approach to customer service.

This increased granularity is extremely important in today’s marketplace. There’s no debate that the market has moved from mass markets to mass customisation to personalisation of products and services. Social Media takes marketing down the same route. The article raises 4 questions that marketeers need to ask to any social media site they plan to target:

  • What proportion of the site’s content is community generated versus content generated by the site operator or third parties?
  • Does the community create quality content and how is that quality guaranteed?
  • Will my existing online campaigns work on a social media site?
  • What technologies or services does the site offer to help marketers target specific demographics or sub-groups?

The wholesale adoption of social media without the necessary analysis and introspection can carry a significant risk of failure. These questions need to be addressed and answered before any successful campaign can be launched.