We’ve stated this before many times, and it something we firmly believe. Social Media is not about media. It is about communication. How are you as a business or organization going to communicate to your audience? Notice we didn’t say market?
This is what social media is all about. QR codes are great. Facebook will eventually rule the planet, but we will always need to communicate, and communicate well with those we want to pay attention.
This is a reason my title is Director of Social Web Communications. We want to emphasize that we help and teach our clients to communicate in the digital landscape. And as a communications firm we are discovering that many industries are still tripping over the social media road bump. They still don’t understand what social media is and how social works.
The reality is that many organizations have to learn, or re-learn how to be social. This can’t be taught by simply setting up Twitter account or a blog for the client, and then walking away. Education is key.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words B2B and social media?
Is it LinkedIn? What about Facebook? We could can even throw in SalesForce in there too I bet.
Tools are usually top of mind when it comes to social media. However, there is a lot more to this space than just tools and tactics. Especially when it comes to B2B communications. Notice we didn’t say marketing?
B2B businesses can take full advantage of the social web, and can do so just as well as any B2C organization.
True the customer base may be smaller, but that doesn’t mean you can’t focus on brand loyalty. Yes Mr. B2B, company you have a brand, and loyalty is something social media can help you obtain and maintain. It really comes down to who you are connected with, and by connected we don’t mean through Linkedin or Twitter. Ask any good business person what the foundation of good business is, and they will say relationships. How many solid relationships have you built offline. What about online?
This is where social media rocks.
Social media is not a tool. It is a relationship builder. Jason Falls says it best, “B2B social media is still P2P social media. The P stands for people folks!”
Trust me, we understand the need to make a buck. That’s what we are in business for, right? Or is it? Perhaps the ROI we experience through our traditional and digital communications isn’t so connected to the dollar, but through the personal connections we make. I mean, without them, we wouldn’t be making money, period.
Referrals, word of mouth, value, good products and good business all came way before social media showed up.
So don’t get so caught up in what you should do in social media. Instead, focus on:
How you are going to communicate
How you are going to show people what you do
How you will build relationships, not just leads
How you will maintain customer loyalty to your products and services
How you are going to get people to find you
How you are going to identify your marketing objectives
How you are going to be social
If you are in the Ann Arbor area this week, AnnArbor.com is hosting a FREE B2B expo this Thursday, March 10th at Washtenaw Community College.
This is a one day event focused on B2B success, economic development and entrepreneurship in Washtenaw County. A great program has been organized including presentations by Keystone Media, NEW, Power Marketing and Research, and more. You can view the entire schedule here: http://b2bexpo.annarbor.com/schedule.html.
We will also be participating on the panel discussion, Social Media: You Are Doing It, Now What?
You pretty much have the pick of the litter when it comes to resources showing you how to “fully leverage the power of twitter.” There are plenty of guides, FAQs, eBooks, blogs, and experts all sharing their advice and tips. However, very few of these resources really dive into how and why Twitter is such a powerful tool.
Justin’s eBook offers professional testimonials on how Twitter has helped them build real connections, and how the ethics that govern our offline relationship influence the effectiveness of 140 characters. In short, you are given true insight on how Twitter really works, and how it can work for you.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I also provide some insight in Chapter 1: Ready to Shake Hands?
Forty six pages of Twitter best practices. Best part? It’s free. This eBook is available for download at no cost. You don’t have to sign up for anything either. Justin and all the contributors felt that what they learned through Twitter should be 100% accessible, and now you have the chance to learn from them.
Download this free eBook at www.embracingtwitter.com, and learn the “why” on why you should use Twitter.
Depending on who you ask, the internet may have born over 40 years ago when two computers were simply connected together. Since that time, people have been using every available tool to build stronger connections with each other. It should be no surprise that the internet eventually became the social web.
Many look at 2010 as the year of social media adoption. This is a fair statement, however, the reality is there is still a large sector of businesses and organizations with little knowledge of this space. More so is the need to align internal cultural changes in order to accommodate best practices that the social web requires.
If 2010 was really the year of adoption, then 2011 needs to be the year of education and best practices.
Firms and marketing professionals need to cement their own internal communication plans, and be able to deliverable measurable results for their clients where appropriate. They also need to ensure that their clients not only know how to use the available tools, but more importantly, why they would need to use them. Best practices can only be achieved through education and guidance that a firm must also practice. Leading by example will be the winning formula.
Social media has proved itself to be a legitimate communicate channel, and a disruptive force when it comes to marketing. I say disruptive because our industry went through dramatic changes in 2010. Agencies had to rethink not only what they can offer their clients, but also how they themselves communicate through the digital landscape.
So, what is in store for 2011?
That could be anyone’s guess. Again, I think we are going to see the need for best practices in both companies, and the agencies that serve their communication needs. Measurable results should be a high priority. The endless debate measurable ROI could be put to rest. In fact, Jay Baer and Amber Naslund have a book coming out that addresses this very topic.
We will continue to see the need for new and unique case studies, especially in the B2B sector. Klout, which entered the ring last year, may need to prove itself as a reliable measure of true influence. The terms influence and personal brand may also have to step up and defend their existence. And now we have Quora, the newest social media sensation to enter the ring.
Communication has always hinged on sociological and cultural tempos. With immediate access comes immediate expectations for communication to be heard, received, and responded to. It should be no surprise that the companies and agencies that communicate the best, will win.
If you are participating or organizing an event or conference, you will undoubtedly want to share your experience through the available social networks.
The immediate response is to blog, tweet, and then post something about your event on Facebook. Though this does provide some immediate value for those who can’t or couldn’t attend, many organizations are missing the bigger picture when it comes to leveraging the social web and their events.
Covering a conference can be a job in itself, but if done correctly it will help build our audience and increase our presence. Your events should be seen as a resource of content to be used before, during, and after the date of the event.
Most organizations do well with the “during” and the “after”. However, many overlook the importance of building an audience and momentum prior to the upcoming event.
Not everyone knows about your event
Truth be told, networks are small and tend to gravitate towards being siloed. If you want to your event to be successful, you must start thinking outside of your immediate audience.Sending out an announcement or simply updating your available online and offline networks won’t do.
Here are some suggestions on how you can build awareness prior to your event:
1. Tell us what your event is all about
This may sound pretty obvious, but I am amazed how many organizations do nothing but simply announce the name, date, and time. That’s all. Nothing about what kind of event is taking place, who will be there, and why I might be interested in attending.
Take the effort to tell me about your event, and I will probably take the effort to find out more about it. This may lead me to thinking about attending, or sharing your event with others who may be interested.
2. Showcase your key players
Putting the spotlight on who will be at your event can be a great way to build word of mouth.
You picked your speakers for a reason. Here is the perfect chance to show me why. Highlight them in a blog post. Better yet, do a few leading up to the event. If they are accessible, get them on video. No camera? Try recording an interview via Skype. Have them guest post or promote your event on their channels.
The organizers of the events I attend do anything they can to get their keynotes and presenters to participate in their media outlets. You need to do the same.
Now, something to point out here. Don’t focus all your attention on your event. Have your speakers provide content that focuses on what they are passionate about as it relates to your event.
This will provide a value that stems away from just plain promotion.
3. Talk about the the hot topics
Certainly your event will be relevant to the interests and needs of your potential audience. However, is there an issue or subject that people can’t stop talking about that relates to your event? If so, take advantage of that.
Build content around these hot issues. This will draw attention from an audience that may not have been aware that there is an event focused on the very subjects they are passionate about.
Remember you goal is to not just get your immediate audience to attend. You want to get people outside of your network to register.
4. What we will be doing during the event
Again, a lot of people over look including this information when promoting their events.
Tell me what we will be doing at your event. Will I just be listening to speakers? Will I have the opportunity to ask interact? Will there be workshops where I can learn something? What about roundtables or Q/A?
Break down your event. Highlight the activities in a series of posts if possible. The idea here is to build your audience through informative and interesting content. Your event represents your organization and brand. You owe it to yourself to put a lot of effort into promoting it both on and offline.
Be creative. Think outside the box.
Next steps
I’ve organized and covered a lot of events including FutureMidwest, Social Media Club Detroit, SOBcon, Ungeeked, and soon BlogWorld and Tedx Detroit. I’ve learned some tricks and I want to see your events succeed. So, we will be putting together an E-book that you can use as a guide you can use.
In it we’ll cover
Building appropriate content
The power of video and voice
Using the available tools
Promoting offline
Promotion during and after
We’ll also dive deeper into building word of mouth leading up to your event
One thing we like to stress to the clients we work with, is the importance of cultivating brand loyalty.
Consumers are spending more and more time on the social web, and are becoming increasingly savvy over which brands are truly listening, engaging, and paying attention to their needs. Smart brands will recognize their consumers loyalty, encourage it, and ultimately reward it. Read more »
Social Media is communication, and though I’m not a history major, I’m pretty sure people have been communicating since the dawn of time. Cave paintings were the first blog. Hieroglyphics the first tweets. We’ve always strived to communicate and have our message heard.
Communication is social media.
By communication I am referring to the internal desire to share stories, our history, news, what excites us, and what frightens us. These are human connections that drive our offline relationships, and it is the same connections that make up the social web.
The internet is simply the tool we use to communicate, and now technology has allowed us to break the 3rd and 4th walls into a new realm of connecting. You can talk to you neighbor down the street, or someone on the opposite side of the globe. Social Media defies geographic limitations.
Technology has enabled this to happen. But again, technology is not social media. Twitter, Facebook and other tools are inventions of technology. But they are just the instruments we choose to share our voice. The goal is still connecting. When Twitter disappears, rest assured we will find another way to connect.
I keep harking on this because I’m very passionate about communication and what the Social Web is capable of. I don’t like to see companies or organizations fall into the deep side of the pool because they didn’t take the time to discover the rules that govern the social web.
Just remember the rules of engagement and honest communication that govern our offline relationships, transfer online. If you can get away from thinking of the digital landscape as bulletin board, you will be in a better position to humanize your brand. Then you will be able to connect with a far bigger audience than you imagined thanks to the social web.
Just wanted to take a quick moment to introduce myself. My name is David Murray and I am the Director for Social Web Communications here at re:group.
Okay, enough shop.
Time to get personal, because that is what social media is all about. Getting personal. Believe it or not, social media isn’t new. Oh sure, the tools are, but they are just that.. tools. Social media isn’t Twitter. It’s not Facebook either. It’s about communication and building relationships. Maybe you’ve heard that before, maybe not. The point is, don’t think of the social web as just another way to advertise. There are more appropriate channels for that.
Want a quick tip? The more time you spend using the digital landscape as a place to cultivate relationships and be human, the better. Why? People now have the option to tune you out.. and they will. Unless they get to know you, not your product.
What I hope to do is to show you how this can be done while sharing some of the things I’ve learned along this social media discovery. I’ll also provide some examples that I find, and point you to some people who are way smarter than me.
Whoops! I forgot to get personal!!
Well, you can find me on Twitter (where I spend most of my time), at most offline social functions, or around the internets. I’m also the founder of Social Media Club Detroit. When I’m not doing the social media thing, I like to play the occasional video game, cook, and watch movies.
I look forward to learning with you, so feel free to reach out to me anytime!
Many of our clients have expressed an interest in learning more about social media. So we’ve compiled a recommended reading list.
·Books – ranked by number of Amazon reviews
oThe New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly – David Meerman Scott (178 reviews)
oWord of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, Revised Edition by Andy Sernovitz, Guy Kawasaki, and Seth Godin (132 Reviews)
oGroundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies – Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff (94 reviews)
oTwitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time – Joel Comm (91 reviews
oTrust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust – Chris Brogan and Julien Smith (42 reviews)
oSix Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone – Mitch Joel (27 reviews)
oSecrets of Social Media Marketing: How to Use Online Conversations and Customer Communities to Turbo-Charge Your Business! – Paul Gillen (23 reviews)
oSocialnomics: How Social Media Transforms The Way We Live and Do Business – Erik Qualman (23 reviews)
oOpen Brand: When Push Comes to Pull in a Web-Made World – Kelly Mooney and Nita Rollins (18 reviews)
oPutting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR – Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge (15 reviews)
Blogs, etc.
oBrian Solis – briansolis.com, twitter.com/briansolis
Principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning PR and New Media agency in Silicon Valley. Solis blogs at PR2.0, bub.blicio.us, and regularly contributes marketing & tech insight to industry publications.
Chris Brogan is President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency, and co-author of “Trust Agents.” He works with large and mid-sized companies to improve online business communications like marketing and PR through the use of social software, community platforms, and other emerging web and mobile technologies.
oCharlene Li – twitter.com/charleneli, altimetergroup.com/blog
Charlene Li is the Founder of Altimeter Group and co-author of the business bestseller, “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies,” published by Harvard Business Press in May 2008.
One of the most sought-after consultants, speakers and thought leaders on new marketing, Joseph Jaffe is President and Chief Interruptor of crayon, a conversational marketing company, specializing in community, dialogue and partnership.
He was one of the Apple employees originally responsible for marketing the Macintosh in 1984. He is currently a Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures, and has been involved in the rumor reporting site, Truemors, and an RSS aggregator, Alltop. He is also a well-known blogger.
oGroundswell – blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/
Presents ongoing insights from Josh Bernoff and other analysts involved with the ongoing Forrester’s Social Technographics® study.
Jeremiah Owyang is a Partner focused on customer strategy at Altimeter Group and author of the popular blog “Web Strategy,” which focuses on how corporations connect with their customers using web technologies.
Social media news from the media, marketing and advertising professional’s leading resource for complete news coverage, engaging events, a focused social network, and comprehensive industry jobs, directories and research.
oSmartBrief on Social Media – smartbrief.com/socialmedia/
SmartBrief on Social Media delivers the best news and insights on the business of social media. The editors become your personal research assistants, handpicking and distilling the most useful information about new and established social networks, user-generated content, blogging, wikis, media sharing, and more.
oAdvertising Age DigitalNEXT – adage.com/digitalnext/
The Ad Age DigitalNext blog is a collection of news and opinions on the emerging media and technology space and its opportunities and impact on marketers. The group’s esteemed (and opinionated) contributors run agencies, startups, and creative departments and hail from all sorts of disciplines, including design and user interface, social networking and community, mobile, gaming and virtual worlds.
Articles, posts, whitepapers
oTop 10 Social Media Tools for Entrepreneurs – mashable.com/2009/10/26/social-media-entrepreneurs/
oSocial Networking for Businesses & Associations by Cerado – www.cerado.com/…/Cerado-Haystack-Executive-Briefing-Social-Networking-for-Businesses-and-Associations.pdf
oFour Ways Social Networking Can Build Business – bnet.com/2403-13070_23-219914.html
oHow to Get Started With LinkedIn – bnet.com/2403-13070_23-219860.html
oMetrics for Social Applications in a Downturn – courses.washington.edu/com529/page2/page7/files/page7_1.pdf
o50 Ways to use Social Media, listed by Objective – web-strategist.com/blog/2008/07/15/50-ways-to-use-social-media-listed-by-objective/
oA Draft Social Media Metrics Model – webwalker.ca/2008/05/19/a-draft-social-media-metrics-model/
oSocial Media Marketing Campaigns: How to Set Goals and Define Your Target Market – http://www.doshdosh.com/social-media-marketing-campaigns-setting-goals-defining-prospects/
oHow to Measure Social Media ROI for Business – mashable.com/2009/10/27/social-media-roi/
o19 sites that can make Twitter soar for you – networkedinc.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/19-sites-that-can-make-twitter-soar-for-you/
